And In These Woods
by Spoilerwolf
Summary: When Sam and Dean take on a supernatural entity in the woods, things get more complicated when Sam starts having visions.  Can they figure out what it means, before it's too late?  Limp!Sam
1. Vision

**And In These Woods...**

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**A/N: This is my first fanfic ever. A big thanks to my beta, Ibelieveinsam, for encouraging me to post this story. I couldn't have done this without her help.**

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The sound of Dean's favorite collection of 'mullet rock' roared out of the Impala's stereo. Sam was asleep, slumped against the passenger door, his head resting against the cool window. Sam's warm breath was frosting the Impala's passenger window as Dean drove down highway 87. Dean was busy singing along to his favorite tunes. He would occasionally steal a glance over to see if any of the noise he was making had woken up his brother. Thankfully, Sam was undisturbed by either the music or his brother's attempts at trying to stay in tune with the song. Dean turned the music down a bit. Dean was thankful that Sam had finally gotten some sleep. It had been too long since the kid had slept more than a few brief hours a night in the last few months. Hell ever since Jess's death, Sam hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep. Things didn't get better after the death of their father. This had bothered Dean, but Sam had never mentioned it and if Dean did bring it up, Sam would shrug it off as nothing to worry about.

_Hopefully this new hunt will be a bit more exciting than the last one. _Dean thought to himself, _God knows that I need to hunt SOMETHING._

It had only been about a week since their last hunt. Some crazed loony of a ghost was haunting a run down apartment complex and caused quite a few of the guests to abruptly leave, saving themselves a lot of pain in the end. Dean kept the ghost distracted long enough for Sam to find the bones and salt and burn them. The job had been an easy one and Dean was more than ready to find something else to hunt down and kill.

Sam had come across an article on the Internet about a mauling that took place in a forest just outside a small town in Oregon. There hadn't been any prints or markings left by the creature, and that peaked the brothers' interest. There wasn't anything else to check out at the time, so they packed up and headed towards their new destination. Dean was more than ready to hunt something down, as a week was a little long for Dean to sit back and do nothing. He was bored and was beginning to climb the walls because of the lack of activity and things to do, until Sam came across the article. Dean had jumped at the chance to hunt something else and they packed up their things and took off.

Dean had promised Sam that he would stay away from the big cities as the Fed's were after him for murder (all the thanks going out to that stupid (but handsome) shape shifter that had taken Dean's form and had almost murdered a woman, causing this whole mess with the feds) but they were also looking for his brother.

"Enough wandering down memory lane, Dean. Time to pick up the pace and find a motel room for the night." Dean muttered to himself.

It didn't take too long for a motel to come into view as they entered Beltaview, Oregon. Dean pulled into the motel parking lot and parked the car.

"Hey Sammy, rise and shine! Can't have you sleeping all day and night." Sam stirred slightly before opening his eyes to answer his brother's comment.

"Couldn't let me rest in peace, huh, Dean?" Sam replied sarcastically.

"No way Sammy. I've been nice enough to let you snore so loudly, that it drowned out my amazing music." Dean gave Sam a sarcastic grin.

Dean was trying to get a rise out of Sam, but was unable to succeed in this attempt. Sam seemed a little out of it, to say the least.

_Ah well, I'll bug him later, I just wanna go have a nice hot shower and get some food._ Dean thought to himself.

As Sam went inside and talked to the motel clerk to book them a room, Dean began pulling their bags out of the car.

"Room 08." Sam called out to Dean as he approached the car coming back from the motel front desk. They unlocked their door and walked inside. The room was white in color, with a small table on the left side of the room, with a painting of horses running through a field above the table. The two beds were on the right side of the room. A TV was located on a desk beside the table and the small fridge was on the left side of the desk. Dean closed the door and both he and Sam placed their bags on their respective beds.

"Gonna have a shower first Sammy." Dean said as he grabbed some clean clothes from his duffel bag, while Sam began unpacking some of his things.

"Cause you know that being the oldest means I get to do what I want first." Dean had made his way over to the bathroom, when Sam spoke up.

"You get to do things first not because your older than me, but because I choose not to bother fighting you on such trivial Dean Winchester things."

Dean merely shook his head, chuckled, and closed the bathroom door. Sam finished unpacking his things and sat on his bed.

The last few days had been uneventful after getting rid of that pesky ghost in Mississippi that had been haunting The Riverside Apartments building. Sam had been relieved to have a few days just to relax before their next gig, but had been having terrible headaches the last few days so he hadn't done much research. Sam also felt more tired then usual.

"Huh, maybe I'm getting the flu or something." Sam hoped that these headaches would go away soon. Of course, he was going to try and deny anything was wrong if Dean asked. He hoped that his brother wouldn't notice that the aspirin bottle in the first aid kit was running a little low. He figured that he would have to re-fill the kit before they left to investigate their hunt in the morning.

Twenty-minutes later, after getting cleaned and dressed, Dean opened the bathroom door, happy to have had a nice hot shower after a long day of driving.

"Hey Sam, the shower's all..." He looked over at his brother, who was laying on his left side, asleep, on top of half of the blankets.

"Dude, you still tired after all that sleeping in the car?" Dean muttered under his breath.

He went over to Sam, pulled the blankets from underneath him, and covered his brother in the warm sheets. Dean was a bit concerned with Sam's behavior the last few days. Sam seemed (at least to Dean anyways) to be more worn-out and tired than was normal for Sam. Sam tried to mask it, but Dean knew his brother too well. Dean had inquired about what was bothering him but couldn't get any answer out of Sam other than "I'm fine, Dean." Dean sighed. He plopped himself on his bed and picked up his cell from the bedside table.

"10:18 P.M already? Where DOES the time go?" At that moment Dean's stomach made its announcement known. They had been traveling since 7:30 A.M that morning, and had stopped for lunch just after 1 P.M and hadn't eaten anything since then.

"Guess I should go grab us some food from that diner down the street." With that, Dean stood up, put on his shoes, grabbed his leather jacket and car keys and headed for the door. He stopped at the door and turned around and picked up a pad of paper and scribbled down a message for Sam, saying that he had gone down the street to pick up some food, so that if Sam woke up while he was gone, he wouldn't worry about where Dean had gone to. Opening the squeaky motel door, Dean turned around to look at his brother.

"Be back soon, Sammy. Don't go and have yourself a party while I'm gone." Stealing one last look at his brother, he quietly closed the door behind him.

_A dark haired woman was running through a maze of trees. She was slender built, in her early 20's, wearing a light blue top and black jogging pants and a look of pure terror etched on her face. _

"_Please somebody help me!" She screamed. A dark, blurry figure ran passed her. The cool wind burning her cheeks as the leaves kept falling all around her. She stopped when she saw a dead animal carcass in front of her. The moonlight casting an eerie shadow on the poor creature. The animal had been torn apart, and was definitely a grim sight to behold. A sudden, low growl from the bushes behind the woman caught her attention. A pair of dark eyes locked on to her pale blue ones. The animal lunged just as the woman let out a blood curdling scream..._

Sam sat up in bed, covered in a cool sweat that swathed his body. Sam knew from experience that this wasn't an ordinary nightmare. No, this was a premonition. Not to mention the horrendous headache that was pummeling his head at the moment. This was going to happen, and probably soon.

_Maybe this is why I've been having headaches and feeling like crap for the past few days. That would explain a lot. _He thought sarcastically.

"Hey Dean?" Sam peered around the room, when he noticed a small note placed on the table. He got off his bed and made his way over to the table.

He scanned the note and decided he should get cleaned up before Dean got back and asked more questions about his health that Sam was just not in the mood to answer at the present time. Sam went to his bag and grabbed some new clothes and headed off to the bathroom and closed the door.

Sam hadn't realized how badly this vision had shaken him up. He'd seen more gruesome visions in the past, but this one seemed to be taking more of a toll on his body. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he had to admit to himself that he didn't look that good. His skin was pale, cold sweat was covering him from head to toe, and the dark circles under his eyes told him that this wasn't going to get better overnight. A long sigh escaped Sam's lips.

Sam was also contemplating who the vision was connecting to. Whenever Sam had a vision, It was either connected to The Demon, or kids with psychic abilities like himself. He turned away from the mirror and turned on the shower.

When Sam had finished his shower and had gotten dressed, he opened the bathroom door and looked around. Dean was sitting at the table with a few burgers, drinks and fries spread across the table. Dean was halfway finished his first burger by the time Sam had finished his shower.

"Geez Sam, did you leave any hot water for any of the other guests? I'm sure that they would want to have a nice hot shower too..." Dean's smirk changed to a worried frown as Sam lowered himself down onto the other chair after placing his things into his duffel bag.

"Dude, you look like crap." Dean could see that Sam was a nicer shade of white then when he had left him earlier.

"Yeah, whatever, I'm starved." Sam grabbed one of the burgers that Dean had bought.

"Hey Dean? I think we're going to have to do the interviews, finding out what it is, and kill it fast because a girl is going to be attacked and killed by something supernatural fairly soon." Dean stopped slurping on his drink and stared at his brother.

"You had a vision?" Sam nodded his head as he took a bite of his burger.

"When? What happened?" Sam knew that whenever he had a vision, It bothered Dean that he was unable to help him. Dean looked worried. Sam decided to try and lighten the mood.

"Chill, I had it when I was asleep. Which is a nice change I guess. I saw this dark haired girl running around in a forest. I saw something big and black run past her. Moving too fast to tell what it was. She came into this clearing and found a dead animal that was ripped to shreds. Then there was this low growl from behind her and she screamed as it lunged at her. That was it. That's all I saw." Dean sat silently for a moment, taking in Sam's vision.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah Dean, I'm fine. We have to find out who this girl is and stop my vision from happening. The sooner the better." Dean didn't believe Sam was telling him the truth about how his health was, but decided to let it go for now. Dean hated whenever Sam had a vision. Truth be told it freaked him out every time it happened. He hated not being able to help Sam. Dean was also wondering if perhaps The Demon was nearby. Sam's visions always had something to do with The Demon, or kids with psychic abilities. He also figured Sam was pondering the same question, but Dean decided that either he would or Sam would call Ash to find out if it was The Demon, after he finished getting more information out of Sam.

"Is there anything in your vision that may tell us when approximately this is going to happen?"

"Well there was a full moon, so let's see when the next one is going to be." Sam went to his bag, found the calendar and scanned it.

"The next full moon is in four days."

"Well that gives us a little bit of time to find this woman, save her and kill the damn thing before it hurts anyone else." Dean stated matter-of-factly as he threw the burger wrappings in the garbage. Dean sat back down and considered their options.

"Let's call Ash, get a bit of research done, then we'll call it a night." Sam nodded and stood up, walked back over to his duffel bag and got out his cell phone. Sam flicked his cell open and dialed Ash's number. Ash answered on the fourth ring. Sam asked Ash to see if The Demon was in the area. Ash put Sam on hold to go and check his computer. After a few minutes, Ash came back to the phone.

"Don't know if you should be relieved or upset, but The Demon is not your culprit. Hasn't had any activity since you gave me that information from your Dad. Sorry man."

"Thanks Ash. Just wanted to make sure. Say hey to Ellen for us."

"Yeah sure thing. Later." Sam hung up his phone and placed it on the table.

"Well Dean, it's not The Demon, so that means it's gotta be one of the kids like me. Only this one doesn't fit the pattern." Sam said as he sat back down on his chair.

"Yeah I guess so. Well we'll figure it out later. First we have to find this woman, and stop her from becoming monster food." Dean replied.

They resumed searching for information that would help lead to figuring out what they were dealing with. Sam tackled the computer while Dean looked for clues in their dad's journal.

After an hour or so of getting no closer to finding out what the thing was, Dean decided to get some shut eye and leave it for tomorrow, calling it quits after 2:30 A.M. Sam stayed up until nearly 4:00 A.M before, he too, decided to try and get some sleep. He turned off the computer and moved over to his bed, where he laid down on his back and pulled the covers over his tired body. He doubted if he would even be able to get to sleep as there were so many thoughts running through his head. He just needed a break. It wasn't too long before sleep claimed Sam's exhausted mind.

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	2. Bars and Second Sight

**Chapter 2**

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**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews guys! So here's chapter two. Again, I have to thank my amazing beta, Ibelieveinsam, for all her help.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Supernatural. Namely Sam, Dean, the Impala, and any other characters that have appeared on Supernatural. They all belong to Eric Kripke and the CW. Making up the places and the 'monster' of the story from my head. If any of these places exist, sorry!**

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"_Someone help me!" A girl screaming. A hot fowl smelling breath behind her neck. A dead animal carcass. The glint of the full moon. The low growl. The girl screamed. The creature leaped..._

"Sam? Sammy! Wake up man!" Dean had just come in the front door after getting some coffee for the both of them, when he noticed his brother mumbling and tossing and turning in his sleep. As he had gotten closer, he could see the sweat running down Sam's face. He was shaking Sam's shoulders trying to wake him up.

"Sammy!" Finally Sam opened his eyes, only to regret the action and closed them afterwards.

"Dude, you were having a nightmare again. You were mumbling in your sleep and thrashing around. You alright?" Sam knew that he would have to go to the bathroom soon, or the carpet would have a nice new shade of green all over it.

"I'll be fine." Dean could see that Sam was turning a nice color of green in his face, but didn't want to argue. It concerned Dean that his brother was having such horrible visions and nightmares lately. Dean watched as Sam almost leaped out of bed and closed the bathroom door behind him. Sam brought up whatever was left in his stomach and gave it to the toilet. He finished heaving and leaned his head against the bathroom wall.

_Ugh, I'm going to have a WONDERFUL taste in my mouth for a while_. He thought miserably. He looked at himself in the mirror and took in his appearance. He still looked a bit green in the face, with sweat making lines down his face as the salty streams continued down towards his neck.

"I look almost as bad as that animal carcass." He mumbled to himself. After washing his face and cleaning up his appearance, he left the bathroom.

Dean sat down on his bed and waited until Sam came out of the bathroom, not looking any better then when he had gone in.

"So you going to tell me what it was you were dreaming about?" Dean tried to keep his voice nonchalant, but couldn't help but worry about his brother.

"Vision again. Same thing that I saw last night. Just not as vivid or detailed, but definitely the same woman and creature." Sam answered tiredly.

"Here, take some of these." Dean handed Sam the bottle of aspirin that came from the first aid kit. Sam took the bottle gratefully.

"Thanks." Sam took out two pills and swallowed them dry. His head still felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it, but was relieved that Dean hadn't mentioned the fact that the bottle was nearing empty and that it had been completely full just a few days ago.

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After convincing Dean that he would be fine, the boys decided to head into town and take a look at the body of the latest victim and talk with the victim's family. After a stop at the coroner's office, they drove into a suburban area and pulled into the driveway of a green two-story house. As they knocked on the door, someone came behind them.

"Can I help you?" The boys turned around.

"Are you Neal Laurens?"

"Yes I am, and who might you be?" He asked, a little wary of the two young men standing at his front door.

"We're from the Wildlife Service. I'm Mr. Johnson and this is Mr. Rockford. We were wondering if we would be able to talk to you about what happened to your son." Dean stated as he flashed the fake id badge to Mr. Laurens.

After almost two hours of consulting the man, the boys left his house and got into the Impala. They had already gone to the coroner's office earlier that morning before talking to Mr. Laurens. They had taken a look at the kid's body, taking in the horrid detail of what that thing had done to the poor kid.

As Dean drove the Impala down the dirt road, he went over the things that Mr. Laurens had told them in his head. His son was an experienced hiker and loved to take the trails in Red River Forest. His son was suppose to meet up with two of his friends, but never arrived at his friend's house. His friends got worried after 3 hours of waiting and called Mr. Laurens. After two days of searching the woods, they came across his mangled body in a clearing near the center of the forest. The police had said that it had probably been a bear, but both he and Sam knew that it wasn't any bear.

"So what do you think Sam? Maybe we're dealing with a werewolf here." Dean asked as they continued down the highway back towards the motel.

"Yeah it's possible, I mean, the lunar cycle fits and it was about the right size to be a werewolf, but I'd rather go back and do some more research and see if the other victims were attacked on the week before the full moon, just to be sure."

"Yeah alright. I'll let you tackle the research, and I'll head to the bar and see what I can dig up on the history of this area from the locals."

"You just wanna go to the bar so you can pick up some numbers, Dean." Sam answered dryly.

"Dude, this is all business. It's only on our days off that I would even consider getting phone numbers." Dean replied with a smirk on his face. Sam knew Dean was good at getting information out of people at a bar. Heck he had more patience with drunk people than Sam did, but Sam also knew that if there were any hot girls in that bar tonight, Dean would definitely be getting their numbers.

"Right. Well whatever. See what you can find out." Sam replied. Dean chuckled to himself. Dean knew what his brother was thinking.

_Yeah I'll get the info, but maybe some numbers while I'm at it._ Dean grinned at that thought. _Geez Sam, you know me sooo well..._

"And try not to piss off the biggest guy in the bar either alright? Don't wanna be stitching your ass back together tonight." Sam added, knowing full well his brother would probably try and hustle some people out of their money by playing pool.

"Yeah, yeah. Besides nobody can kick my ass. I'm just too good." Dean smirked.

"Well there was that time in Texas..." Sam replied with a small grin. Dean's grin faded to a small frown.

"Dude! I did not have my ass kicked then. That was a draw. He still had it worse than I did anyways." Dean remembered that incident. It was a fair enough fight, though it was a draw in the end. Even though Dean had suffered two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist and bruises on top of bruises in that fight, Dean had done pretty well, considering the guy had two friends and was at least a head taller and 80 pounds heavier than he was.

"Yeah, okay Dean. Whatever you say. Just don't tick off the locals." Sam tried to stifle a laugh, thinking about that fight back in Texas.

"Whatever." Was all Dean could reply. Though Dean was reluctant to leave Sam because of his recent turn of less-than-perfect health, Sam dropped Dean off at the bar and promised to pick Dean up in a few hours. Dean would be drinking some at the bar, so he wouldn't be driving himself back to the motel.

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After a few hours, Sam drove down to the bar and waited for Dean to come out. A few minutes later, he saw Dean exiting and making his way over to the Impala.

"So did you find out any information? And I mean useful information Dean, not what girl is currently single and how many shots it takes her before she's doing karaoke." Sam asked as Dean sat down in the passenger seat and closed the car door.

"Come on Sam, I already told you we are on a job right now and I was totally being professional... Alright, I scored two numbers." Dean said as he held the two napkins up so Sam could see the numbers. Dean couldn't help but grin. Sam merely shook his head.

"What did you find out about the town's history?" Sam asked as he started up the Impala and exited the bar parking lot. Dean shoved the numbers into his jacket pocket before answering.

"Well the attacks started about 40 years ago when two young hikers went missing. A few days later, they were found mangled and ripped apart. Police chalked it up as a bear attack, even though a bear has been seen about only a handful of times in this area since the start of the attacks. There's been 28 attacks since then, with only 3 survivors. All three have since moved away from the area, but the one guy I was talking to said that he had talked to one of the survivors about the incident. He said the guy had been doing a late night jog near Red River Forest, when he heard some sort of growl. Some animal attacked him and he managed to get away. The dude lost his right arm to the thing, but the guy claimed that it was some sort of giant wolf-like creature with the blackest eyes he had ever seen. Said the animal was pure evil."

"Sounds more like a werewolf every time we learn more about this area." Sam remembered their first werewolf hunt. It had been about 14 years ago, up in Minnesota. Their Dad had taken them along for once, to which Dean was ecstatic about.

They hadn't run into any problems in that hunt, and had learned that even though werewolves were rare, there were different kinds and each had their own unique patterns and temperaments.

"Yeah sounds like." Dean answered.

"I dunno, guess we could check out Dad's journal and hit the computer to see what information we can dig up on the area and on werewolves, considering there are a few different kinds of werewolves that we've heard about." Sam replied as they passed through downtown.

"You know Sam, I could have driven back to the motel room ya know? I'm not even wasted man."

"Yeah, well it gives me the chance to drive AND listen to my kind of music for a change." He smirked at his brother, who merely scoffed at him.

"You're own rules Dean. 'Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake-hole.'" Dean stared at his brother in realization that Sam had turned his own rules against him, so that he could control the music in his car.

"Well don't get used to it, it's not going to happen often. She doesn't like the crappy kind of music that you play." Dean stated as they got back on the highway, heading towards the motel with a bit of a sour expression on his face. Soft rock had just started to play on the Impala's stereo as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the motel. Sam chuckled as they climbed out of the Impala, closed the doors and headed towards their room, while Dean was muttering to himself about how Sam didn't have any taste in music.

_Ha, sometimes Dean just doesn't take humor the way he should._ Sam thought to himself as they opened their motel room door. Sam went to the table and plugged his laptop into the wall. Dean closed the front door and went to his duffel bag.

As Sam waited for the familiar hum of the computer, signaling its start up, Sam watched as Dean started going through their Dad's journal again, trying to find any information that he could on werewolves and any other creatures that might fit the limited criteria. Finally, the computer was ready to go and Sam wasted no time as he started searching up information on different animal spirits, as well as werewolves that might fit the description. It was nearing 2:00 A.M and they still hadn't gotten much information. Dean wasn't having any luck in Dad's journal, so he had ran out to the car and dug out an old text that held information on different supernatural creatures and myths. Sam hadn't found much information on any of the websites that he had been searching. It had been a long day and Sam was beginning to struggle with concentrating on the task in front of him. A dull throb had begun to make itself known as it situated itself just behind his eyes. Then the pain in his head began to steadily increase. Sam placed his palm on his forehead and closed his eyes. Not long after getting the throbbing aches, Sam felt another wave of pain ricocheting within his head.

_Damn it not now! I have to get out of here. I don't want to worry Dean about this. _He thought to himself. Unfortunately for Sam, Dean had noticed the mask of pain that was plastered to his brother's face, as well as Sam's paling complexion.

"Sam, you alright?" Knowing full well that he wasn't.

"Yeah I just got a headache. I'll be fine." Sam said, trying to re-assure Dean . Sam took off to the bathroom and had only just managed to close the bathroom door when the vision took full force of his mind. Under normal circumstances, Sam could handle the visions when they hit. They were always painful, sure, but he could manage it. This time, however, it had come on too fast and Sam was not in the best of health in the first place. It was a case of too much too fast. Sam's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he began to fall backwards. He could just make out that he had hit the counter with the side of his head as the vision swam through his exhausted mind.

"_Katie! Katie where are you?" A young man was wandering around the outer edges of the woods calling out to Katie. He was in his mid-twenties, with short black hair, blue jeans, and wearing a grey hoodie. _

"_Katie this isn't funny anymore, alright? You've proven your point that your tough, but can we just get out of here?" Nothing was returning his desperate pleas. The man stared up at the starry sky, sighing to himself. _

"_Why did we go out to this creepy place when the stupid moon wouldn't be up in the sky to give us more light? Or, better yet, not even coming to this dumb forest?" A small bush to his left began to rustle. A twinge of fear coiled around his insides. _

"_What? are you really that scared, Rick?" Rick jumped at the sound of his name. _

"_Katie, where the HELL have you been? I've been calling you for the last 10 minutes! Why didn't you answer me?" Katie came out of the bushes to stand in front of Rick. Katie was also in her mid-twenties with long blonde hair, fair skin and dressed in a light brown fall jacket and dark blue jeans. _

"_Look I just don't think that we should be wasting our time here on the edge of this stupid forest when we could be hanging out at my place watching some new horror movies, or going to the bar and having some fun there." Rick said with a bit of relief and anger in his words. A strong gust of wind blew past them and caused hundreds of leaves to dislodge themselves from their roots and fall forcefully to the ground. A low growl could be heard coming from a group of small bushes just behind them. _

"_Did you hear that?" Rick asked with a hint of fear in his words. _

"_Hear what?" Katie answered dryly as she walked away from Rick. _

"_You know, why don't you admit you're afraid and that your girlfriend has more guts than you d..." Katie turned around to find that Rick wasn't there. _

"_Rick! Now's not the time to play 'revenge' alright? Let's just go." A pained scream came from about a hundred feet away, within the forest. _

"_Rick!" Katie ran into the woods, trying to pin point the area that she had heard Rick scream. She came upon an opening in the trees. Blood littered the forest floor. _

"_Oh God. Rick! Where are you?" She screamed aloud. Hearing a twig snap behind her, she turned around and stared at the blackest eyes she had ever seen in her life. She tried to scream as the creature attacked her. The look in the creature's black eyes said everything. Power, control, and death..._

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**_A/N: Don't worry. Limp!Sam is on the way next chapter. Thanks for reading guys!_**


	3. Encounter

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: So here it is people. Chapter 3. Thanks so much for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Supernatural.**

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Dean watched as Sam practically ran to the bathroom. He was getting up to go and check on him, when he heard the sound of something hitting something hard and then hitting the floor.

"Sammy!" Dean raced over to the bathroom, knocked on the door and called out to his brother again.

"Sammy, are you alright in there?" No answer.

"Alright, I'm coming in then." After receiving no response from his brother, Dean turned the door knob. Dean could tell that Sam was on the floor, as his legs were blocking the door. Dean tried to gently push the door open without hurting Sam. He managed to just squeeze into the small bathroom and made his way towards his brother.

"Sam? Sammy? Come on man, you gotta get up." Dean said as he knelt down on the floor next to Sam. He was trying to not let the fear that gripped him spill out in his voice. Sam was almost white in color. Sweat was running down his face and small shivers ran rampant throughout his body. Dean could see now that Sam had hit the left side of his head on the counter when he passed out. It was bleeding pretty good, and would definitely be needing some stitches that Dean was going to have to do. Dean quickly grabbed a hand towel from the counter and tried to slow the bleeding down. Dean had never known Sam to pass out from a vision before, and this scared him. Not only that, but Sam was getting even paler, and his breathing was weak and irregular. It pained and scared Dean to see Sam taking such shallow breaths and seeing his brother in such agony.

"Come on Sammy, you gotta open your big puppy dog eyes and let your big brother know that you're gonna be alright." Dean pleaded to his unconscious brother, beginning to lose his composure with each passing second that he didn't get a response from Sam.

"Wake up damn it!" Shouted Dean, as he shook his brother's shoulder. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Dean, Sam began to stir. Dean let out a sigh of relief.

"That's it Sammy." Sam finally opened his eyes to see Dean staring back at him. Sam was dimly aware of where he was: In the motel bathroom where he had collapsed after his vision had started. He was also aware that Dean was holding a hand cloth on the left side of his head.

"Dean?" Confusion etched itself around his own name as Sam called for him.

"Yeah, Sam I'm here. You hit your head on the counter and it's bleeding a bit, so if you can hold the cloth to your head, I'll go get the first aid kit." Sam nodded and grabbed the cloth from Dean, while Dean rushed out of the bathroom to go collect the first aid kit.

Dean returned and began asking his brother if he had injured himself anywhere else. He checked Sam's pupils and asked him a few simple questions to see if Sam had a concussion, but was relieved to find that he didn't. Dean then returned to the area where Sam had hit his head.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch, Sammy." Dean regretfully told his brother. They didn't have anything that would numb the pain and Dean knew it was better to stitch the wound now, then to take Sam to a hospital when he himself could do as good, if not a better a job than the doctors. They would have to wait a while at the hospital anyways.

Their father had taught them how to suture wounds at a young age. Sam had stitched Dean up many a time, when Dean would get back from a hunt with their father.

"You ready Sam?" Dean asked softly, as he removed the cloth covering his brother's head wound and applied the anti-bacterial ointment to his wound.

"Just do it." Sam almost whispered the words as his head was making the room spin. He shut his eyes to try and shake off the nausea and to try and get the room to stop moving, while he waited for Dean to start stitching him up. Dean bit his lip and began stitching up his little brother. Sam winced and clenched his jaw as the needle went in and out of his flesh. Four stitches later, Dean had finished stitching up Sam's head. Dean cleaned the blood off of Sam's face with a wet washcloth and helped Sam into a sitting position. Sam could feel the back of his throat trying to fend off the mixture of stomach acid and partially digested food that was slowly creeping upwards. Unable to prevent it, Sam leaned over the toilet and felt everything coming up. Dean left the bathroom to give Sam some privacy while he emptied the contents of his stomach. Dean came back to the bathroom when Sam was finally finished throwing up. Dean leaned down and placed Sam's right arm around his neck and lifted his brother up. Dean then wrapped his left arm around Sam's waist to keep his brother from falling over as Sam was beginning to sway on his feet. They slowly made there way over to Sam's bed. Dean was carrying most of Sam's weight as his brother struggled to keep his balance. Dean lowered Sam onto his bed and placed the motel sheets over his exhausted brother.

"Dean... another attack..." Sam was struggling to get the words out. His mind and body were taxed.

"Sam, we'll worry about it in the morning. Just get some rest, alright?" Sam nodded his head and closed his eyes. Sam was asleep by the time Dean sat down on his own bed. Dean ran his hand over his face. He knew that whatever it was that Sam saw in his vision, he would find out exactly what it was in the morning, and do something about it then. Until then, Dean decided that he would tackle the computer while his brother slept. Dean doubted if he would even be able to get much sleep tonight with everything that had just happened. With a sigh, he started working on the computer, while glancing over at his sleeping brother every few minutes.

_It's gonna be a long night. _Dean thought to himself as he scanned the pages of ancient animal spirits and werewolf lore, hoping to have this figured out before Sam woke up.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The first thing Sam thought to himself as he woke up was that someone had taken a baseball bat to his head and taken a couple of whacks at it. His body was trying to fall back into the darkness and tranquility of sleep, but he knew that he had to wake up and get to work, had

to try and stop another vision from running its course. He finally mustered up the strength and opened his eyes and pulled the blankets off. His aching body screamed with the effort. Dean was asleep on his bed, lying on top of the covers. He hadn't even changed his clothes from the day before. Sam carefully sat up and swung his legs over the bed. His head was still throbbing and making it difficult to see straight, but he managed to make it to the bathroom in one piece, even on slightly wobbly legs. After cleaning himself up in the bathroom, he carefully opened the door and made his way over to the table. He found the bottle of aspirin and popped two of the little pills in his mouth, grabbed a warm can of Iced Tea, and swallowed the pills. Sam wondered what this vision had to do with the other kids like himself. Sam had called Ash not too long after his first vision to see if The Demon was in the area.

Ash had told him there wasn't any demon activity at all, so it couldn't be The Demon. It had to involve a kid with abilities like his own.

_I'll worry about that later._ Sam thought to himself. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he checked the time on his cell phone.

7_:28A.M. I guess I should go grab us some coffee. I don't want to have to listen to Dean whine about not having his morning coffee. _Sam knew Dean was not really a 'morning person' for as long as he could remember. When Dean had to get up early in the morning, a happy Dean was a Dean with hot coffee in his hands. Even though Sam's body was still moaning in protest at having to move, he began putting on his jacket and locating his shoes. Dean was beginning to stir, just as Sam was getting ready to head out the door.

"Hey. Where are you going?" Dean said as he tried to stifle a yawn.

"I'm just going to go grab some coffee. I'll be back shortly." With that Sam closed the door behind him. Dean groaned as he tried to get the kinks out of his body. He had slept a mere three hours, but was surprised that he had gotten any sleep at all.

"At least Sam looks less like a piece of roadkill than he did yesterday." Dean said aloud to himself. After going to the bathroom and taking a quick shower and getting dressed, he left the bathroom and was greeted with a guilty and sad looking Sam.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Dean asked, worry sinking into the bottom of his stomach as Sam handed him his coffee.

"Dean, there's been another attack up at Red River Forest." Sam answered, already afraid that this attack might have been the one that he had foreseen a few hours ago.

"People at the diner were talking about it while I was waiting for the coffee. We have to go check it out, now."

"Alright. Let's go." Dean grabbed his jacket and keys and followed Sam out the door towards the Impala.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As they neared the forest on the north side, they could see two police cars and a coroner's van parked near the entrance to one of the many trails. Dean found a place to park the Impala, reached over to the glove compartment box, and took out their fake Wildlife Service badges.

"Let's go." Dean headed over to the lead police officer and introduced Sam and himself, both boys flashing their fake id badges.

"So what exactly happened here?" Dean asked in his best authoritative voice.

"Well we got a call about 2:30 this morning from a man who claimed to have heard screaming coming from the woods. He went out to investigate himself, when he came across the pool of blood over here. He waited for us to get here, and it didn't take us long to find two young kids, ripped to shreds by what can only be a bear attack."

"Do you know who the two kids are?" Sam was afraid to ask, but already knew what the answer was going to be. The officer led them over to two body bags laying on the ground. He opened the body bags.

"The male was 26 year old Rick Pallier, and the female was 25 year old Katie Tribulayne. Nice kids too. Tragedy this is. The families are devastated." The officer replied grimly, as he closed the body bags. Dean could see his brother's shoulders slump, and knew that his vision had something to do with these two kids.

"Thank-you for your time officer. We'll keep in touch." Sam said as he and Dean walked away from the crime scene and headed back to the Impala.

"Dean, those are the two kids I saw in my vision last night." Sam whispered with a hint of frustration and sadness weaved between his words.

"Well Sam, your vision wasn't much of a heads up. Even if we had left the motel room right after your vision, we still wouldn't have gotten here in time. It takes 40 minutes just to get here anyways. There was no way to help them Sammy, we couldn't have done anything." Dean was trying to persuade his brother to not blame himself, which he knew Sam always did whenever they couldn't save someone. Dean himself knew for a fact that they couldn't have done anything to save those two kids. They just weren't given enough time, nor an exact location. He just hoped Sam wouldn't blame himself for this.

"Yeah I guess you're right Dean." Sam answered quietly. Sam was grateful that Dean was trying to make him feel better, and to be honest, it was working somewhat. Dean's logic was accurate. Deep down Sam knew that they wouldn't have been able to save them without having more time, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for those two kids.

"Of course I'm right Sammy, I'm always right. Perks of being the older brother." Dean said with a grin on his face. Sam merely shook his head as he opened the passenger side door and got in. Dean got into the driver's side, closed the door, and started up the Impala. The engine roared to life and Dean whipped out of the parking lot.

"Alright, let's head back to the motel and come back here later tonight and see if that thing left us any breadcrumbs." Dean stated as they headed down the highway, while Dean's beloved mullet rock music blared from the Impala's stereo.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As the sun was beginning to set behind the western mountains, Sam and Dean cruised down the highway in the Impala and made there way back to Red River Forest. Sam had looked up the time of the other attacks, and most of them did not take place during the week leading up to the full moon. They had just over three days to stop Sam's other vision from becoming a reality. Even though Sam wasn't at his best, he felt a bit better than he had been in the last few days. He still had a mild headache, but nothing that would slow him down with the task at hand. Dean was still concerned about Sam's health and had made Sam take some more medicine before they left. Dean's older brother instincts told him he would have to keep an eye on Sam to make sure his health didn't take a sudden nose dive.

Sam had poured through the websites, until he came to an article that seemed to fit their case. The article had talked about a Vyriayne, a spirit that descended from ancient Indian summoning rituals. The Vyriayne was used to protect the villagers from disease and disaster, but would always end up betraying the one who had conjured it. Dean had looked up the area's history and found out that an Indian tribe had settled in this area some 200 years ago, and that something had wiped them all out. The Vyriayne would take on the form of a giant wolf-like creature and would attack any human that was not part of the protected tribe. Once the Vyriayne had been summoned, the only way they would be able to destroy it is to trap it and perform a reversal ritual before it ripped either of them apart. The only thing about the Vyriayne that didn't make sense to the brothers was why the creature had stopped killing for over a 150 years, only to start again in the last 40 years?

By the time Sam and Dean had made it over to the entrance to the Forest's many trails, the sun had set, giving way to the unsettling darkness of night. Though Sam didn't want to admit it to Dean, he had a bad feeling about this hunt. Sam hoped that it was just worry that he was creating for himself, but he couldn't shake this uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.

_We'll be fine, we always are. I'm just stressing myself over nothing... I hope. _Dean parked the Impala and they got out of the car and headed towards the trunk.

"Okay, we're going to need rock salt and lots of it!" Dean said cheerfully as he opened the trunk and was rummaging through their vast number of weapons. He finally selected his favorite shotgun, grabbed extra rock salt cartridges and shoved them into his jacket pocket.

"Yeah I already grabbed Dad's journal. I wrote down the incantation that we're going to need for the ritual." Sam said, as he too grabbed a shotgun and loaded his pockets with extra rock salt cartridges. Before closing the trunk, Sam also took a medium-sized hunting knife that he attached to his left leg, using bindings that he had grabbed earlier to keep the knife securely in place. Sam normally didn't carry knives, but felt like it might come in handy.

"Ready to go Sam?" Dean asked as he closed the Impala's trunk.

Sam glanced at his brother, took a deep breath, and replied, "Yeah, let's go get the damn thing."

They moved cautiously into the forest, with Dean leading and Sam covering his back, shotgun out and ready to shoot anything that came near them. Dean crouched down and took a look at his watch as he signaled to Sam to stop moving.

_9:34 P.M. Hope that thing is ready to have it's ass removed from this plain of existence. _Dean thought to himself. He couldn't hear anything other than his brother's quiet intake of air as he knelt down beside Dean.

"So, how far do think that we have to keep going before this thing rears his ugly head?" Dean whispered to Sam.

"Hard to say, the last attack..." Sam took a deep breath as he felt a little bit of pain and guilt tug at the outer rim of his heart, as he remembered what those poor kids had gone through.

"...was close to the outer edges of the forest. Though most of the attacks have occurred near the forest's center."

"Alright then." Dean said quietly as he stood up.

"Let's keep heading in this direction for a while longer, then when we hit a clearing, we'll get the gear ready." Sam got up and quickly brushed the dirt and debris off his jeans, before resuming his position behind his brother, facing in the opposite direction to ensure that they weren't attacked from behind.

The boys finally came to clearing in the densely populated brush.

"Finally! I was starting to get a little claustrophobic in there." Dean mumbled as he dropped the bag he was carrying onto the ground. Sam still had an uneasy feeling. He felt like they were being watched.

"Hey Dean? How 'bout we unpack this stuff and get everything ready for the ritual fast, okay?" Sam was more than on edge. Dean could hear it in Sam's voice.

"Yeah alright. Let's get this over with."

The boys began getting their packs opened, digging around taking everything out that they needed to send the damn thing back to wherever the hell it came from. Dean began clearing the ground of dirt and debris as he started drawing an entrapment circle to stop the Vyriayne from leaving the area, once it stepped inside the circle. Sam looked at his watch.

_10:18 P.M._ Dean had just bent down to pick up their dad's journal when he heard a low growl coming from the bushes to his right.

"Sam, I think it just came out of hiding." Dean stated, his voice strained as he took in the sight of the horrible spirit that was standing in front of him, as he pointed his shotgun at the thing.

_That is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen._ Dean thought to himself. The Vyriayne stood at approximately 8 and a half feet, with blackish-blue fur. It must have weighed close to 350 pounds. Even though it's a spirit, it took physical form at night. Both hands had 4 inch menacing looking claws. And its mouth had two rows of the sharpest, teeth Dean had ever seen. The smell of old blood and death was almost overwhelming. The thing that made it all the more hideous to look at was the black eyes that all but screamed pain and death at him.

_God, it looks like a Rottweiler on steroids. _Dean muttered to himself.

"Dean, how about we start the ritual like, I dunno, NOW!" Sam uttered as he moved over to be beside his brother, so they could both work on destroying the spirit. The Vyriayne moved closer to the brothers, stepping right into the entrapment circle, looking from Dean to Sam, wondering which one to take out first. The brothers began the ancient chant, each syllable gaining strength and intensity. The creature looked dumbfounded. Almost in an instant, it began to howl as the ritual was beginning to strengthen. The wind began to pick up, leaves scattering everywhere. The Vyriayne swung an arm at Dean, missing his head by mere inches. The boys began to back up away from the creature, as they continued their chant. The Vyriayne leaped, taking aim at the eldest brother. Dean hadn't been as quick as before and felt the Vyriayne's claws tear into his right shoulder.

"DEAN!" Sam shouted as the creature turned it's sights back on his injured brother.

"Sam I'm fine. Finish the damn ritual!" Dean answered through gritted teeth. _The wound isn't that deep, but damn! _

Sam shot the creature squarely in the head with rock salt, making the creature howl and stare angrily back at him. Sam began chanting again, and the creature was beginning to slow down. Dean joined in and together they saw the spirit being ripped from this plane of existence. The cries it emitted sent chills down both boys' spines. They finished the chant and watched as the creature literally fell to pieces in front of their eyes. What was left of the spirit hit the forest floor with a thud, as it began to dissipate.

Sam rushed over to his brother's side, worried that the wound might be deep, as Dean has a tendency to stretch the truth about the severity of his injuries.

"Dean are you alright?" Sam's voice cracked slightly.

"Dude, I'm fine. Just a graze." Dean knew that it was a little more than a graze, that it may even need stitches, but at the moment, he was just glad everything had turned out alright.

"Dean, don't be an ass about it. Just let me see your shoulder." Sam mumbled to his older brother, as he lowered himself down so he could be face to face with Dean, who was sitting on the ground. Dean knew that Sam meant business, and that his brother would not give up until he got a look at Dean's wound.

"Alright, but make it snappy. I don't want to be sitting on the ground longer than I have to." Sam quickly assessed his brother's wound. He was glad that the wound wasn't that deep, but would need to be bandaged.

"Dean, did you bring the first aid kit with you?" Dean rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.

"Yeah, I did. It's in my bag. Sam, don't bother trying to fix it now. Let's just grab our stuff and get back to the motel. I'll clean it up when we get back to the motel." Sam sighed.

"Alright, let's get out of here. When we get back to the motel, I'm going to stitch your shoulder whether or not you want to look after yourself." Dean merely rolled his eyes.

_Sam you worry too much. It's not even bad. Always making a fuss about nothing. _Sam helped Dean up, moved over to where the stuff they had needed for the ritual was and began throwing things back into his bag.

"Ready to go?" Dean asked as he threw his bag over his uninjured shoulder.

"Yeah, I've had enough spirits for one night." Sam admitted as he covered a yawn with his arm.

_Man, I'm tired. At least that girl will be safe. _Sam thought to himself as he followed Dean out the way they had come in.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

They began walking back along the path they had made for themselves. It hadn't been more than a few minutes when Sam heard something moving to the right of them.

"Dean." Dean hastily came to a stop at the tone of his brother's call. After a few minutes of hearing nothing out of the ordinary, they continued on their way. Sam had that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. They had gotten rid of the Vyriayne. What else could be out there? As if almost sensing what was going through his brother's head, Dean turned around and faced Sam.

"Dude, I think our work here is done. Nothin' to worry about. Alright Sam?"

"Yeah you're probably right Dean, but I dunno, I just... I just have a bad feeling." Sam wasn't sure his brother would take him seriously.

"You worry too much Sam." Dean replied as he continued down the path. Dean couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that Sam had given him. Sam had a strong sense of intuition of knowing when something was wrong, even in some situations that Dean thought were perfectly safe, or at least safe for them, considering Dean's intuition for danger was remarkably good anyways. Whether this was from Sam's psychic abilities or just something he naturally did, Dean didn't care. Although he seemed to recall Sam being very intuitive when they were younger. If his brother was worried, then it should be taken seriously.

They had almost reached the outer ridges of the forest, when that feeling of danger increased. He saw a black blur move past him on his left side.

"DEAN! there's another o..." Dean turned his head to see his brother being side-lined by another huge, hulking Vyriayne He saw Sam fly 15 feet away, his hand losing contact with his shotgun, landing hard on his back.

"SAMMY!" Dean shot at the Vyriayne, who dodged Dean's shot. Dean took off at a run to Sam's side. A few feet from Sam, Dean felt a strong arm ram into his back sending him forward, his gun falling out of his grip, landing with a thud 20 feet away from him. Sam heard Dean fall to the ground with a grunt. Both boys painfully picked themselves up. Dean looked around and couldn't see the Vyriayne anywhere. Dean ran to go get his gun, as his was closest, and Sam saw the Vyriayne about to strike his brother.

"DEAN!" Sam had only been a few steps behind his brother as the strike was about to hit. Sam managed to push Dean out of the way, so that the Vyriayne's strike hit him instead. The strike was hard and fast, and launched Sam off his feet, causing him to land hard on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs. The creature went wild, attacking Sam with its claws and biting into his soft flesh with it's powerful jaws. Sam let out a yell as his flesh was being ripped open.

"SAM!" Dean pushed himself off the ground and raced for his shotgun. When he got ahold of it, he took aim at the place that the creature at been attacking his brother, but the creature and Sam were nowhere to be seen. Dean's heart rate skyrocketed as panic set in.

"SAMMY!" Dean hoped for some sort of response, but none was forthcoming. He ran over to the area that they had been in. Blood. Sammy's blood. That was all Dean could see. He found a blood trail and while trying to keep the nausea at bay, ran back into the depths of the forest.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: So what's going to happen to Sam? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter. Hehe. Thanks for reading guys!**


	4. Damage

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you like this chapter. Thanks for the reviews!!**

**Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own Supernatural or anything relating to it.**

* * *

Fear and anguish racked Dean's mind as he raced through the thick trees and dense brush. 

_Where the hell did that thing take Sammy? I should have found them by now. I'm gonna kill that Son of a bitch for hurting Sam! _

Dean could hear the sound of his heart thumping hard inside his chest and the sound of twigs and dirt crunching beneath his shoes. He slowed down as he heard a growl coming from the bushes in front of him. There, on the other side of the clearing, roughly 120 feet away from where Dean stood was Sam, leaning against a large tree, with the Vyriayne charging towards him.

"SAM!" Dean knew he wouldn't be able to stop the attack as he ran towards his brother. He was too far away for the rock salt be effective. The hairs on the back of Dean's neck stood up when he heard a shriek fill the air. Only it wasn't coming from Sam, it was coming from the Vyriayne. Dean almost stopped to stare in disbelief at what he saw. Sam had managed to get ahold of his hunting knife and waited until it came in for another attack. When the Vyriayne was close enough, Sam jammed the knife into the Vyriayne's neck with every bit of strength that he had left in his worn body. The Vyriayne cried out in pain, as Sam ripped the knife from its neck. The spirit's anguished howls filled the night air as it turned and disappeared into the darkness.

_Wow Sammy. I have to admit, that was impressive. Way to go little brother._ Dean thought to himself as he continued to run towards his brother. Dean picked up his pace as he saw Sam drop the hunting knife and watched as his brother began to pitch sideways.

"Sam!" Reaching out, Dean caught his broken brother and gently laid him on the rough and uneven ground.

Dean was horrified at the damage the spirit had caused his little brother. Sam's face was splashed with blood, his color somewhat grey. His left arm had three deep gashes that were oozing blood and cascading down the sides of his arm. His left shoulder had deep puncture wounds from where the Vyriayne had bitten him. His chest had several deep gashes, blood slowly sliding down his sides. His right leg was damaged and bleeding as well.

"God Sammy..." Dean was scared. Sam was losing a lot of blood. He needed a hospital and fast. He grabbed his cell phone to see if it had any reception and thankfully it did. Dean punched in 911 and quickly told the operator that he needed an ambulance A.S.A.P. There was an ambulance actually in the area, a lucky break that the Winchester's rarely ever received. Dean hung up the phone and focused his attention on his brother. Dean knew he couldn't risk the paramedics lives by having them come in here, so he would have to get Sam out to them. Dean took off his jacket and his front t-shirt, ripping his shirt and began trying to slow the blood flow coming from his brother's chest.

"Sammy? Can you hear me? I need you to wake up for me alright?" Dean didn't try to hide the sound of panic in his voice as the lack of movement coming from his brother was terrifying him.

Sam could hear his brother's pleas and wanted to answer him, but was finding it difficult to come up with a coherent thought, as he felt like he was drowning in the darkness of unconsciousness. Dean could see Sam stirring slightly.

"Come on Sam, you gotta wake up now. We have to get you out of here okay? We need to go." Dean said quietly to his brother, as he began cutting strips out of what used to be his t-shirt with his pocketknife. Dean was always in control of his emotions. He had built a mental wall around himself long ago that kept his emotions in check. Sam was the only one who could break through his emotional barrier and the only one Dean trusted to share his feelings with, even though sharing his feelings was something Dean rarely did as it was too uncomfortable for him. Dean tried to stow the flow of emotions that were beginning to erupt from his mental wall, as he saw his brother fighting the pain, fighting to stay alive. He held back tears that were so very close to reaching his eyes as he began wrapping up Sam's bloody arm. When he was almost finished wrapping Sam's arm, he noticed Sam was coming back to consciousness.

"De-an?" Sam's voice was weak as he called out to his brother, his eyes open to mere slits.

"Hey Sammy, glad to see that you're awake. I'm going to have to get you out of here so we can get you fixed up, alright?" Dean was even more worried at the sound of his brother's weak voice, and the lack of focus in his eyes.

"M'kay Dean. I think that I can walk on my own." Sam managed to mumble out as he tried to sit up. Dean put his left hand on Sam's uninjured shoulder and gently pushed his brother back down.

"Dude, I don't think you can stand on you're own two feet, let alone walk out of the woods by yourself."

"Just... don't want... to hurt your shoulder..." Sam said through clenched teeth as he tried to ride out the pain that erupted from his damaged chest. It felt like every part of him was on fire.

Dean couldn't believe his brother had said that. _The kid's in really bad shape and he's still worrying about me? _

Dean was really touched by his brother's words, though Sam would never know that. Dean was not into "chick-flick moments" as he had once told his brother, but was humbled by his brother's words nonetheless. Dean started to prepare Sam for the trek out of the woods, while listening for the Vyriayne to return.

"You ready Sam? I'm going to lift you up on three." Sam gave a slight nod of his head.

"One...Two...Three!" Dean pulled Sam up, while quickly apologizing for the pain he saw on his brother's face.

"Sorry Sammy, sorry! It'll be okay Sam."

Dean could feel his brother swaying, so he grabbed Sam's right arm and wrapped it around his neck. He then wrapped his left arm around Sam's waist to steady him. Dean knew the walk was going to be very hard on his brother, and hoped that Sam was going to be strong enough to walk out with him.

Every step seemed to take an eternity for Sam. His breaths were coming out in shallow gasps and his damaged ribs caused him pain with every breath he took. His head would go down to the point where his chin was almost touching his chest, only to snap back up as he fought for consciousness. Every step sent shocks of pain up his leg and throughout his body. It was like a liquid fire raging war through his veins, burning everything it came into contact with. Sam could feel a small trickle of blood beginning to escape from his mouth and run down his chin and continue down his neck. Sam could feel his body almost dragging itself as he pushed forward towards the edge of the forest. Sam's body was screaming in pain, as if every nerve fiber had been lit on fire. He could feel Dean's grip increase as he struggled to remain upright.

"Stay with me Sam. Were going to get out of here and get ya patched up." Dean glanced at Sam it seemed every 5 seconds. He then noticed the small amount of blood coming out of his brother's mouth.

_Damn it! _Dean knew that Sam had sustained internal injuries, but now he knew he might have punctured his lung as well. Sam required medical help now. He tried hard not to panic. Panicking would only cause Sam more problems. He had to stay calm for Sam's sake.

"It'll be okay Sam." Sam merely nodded at his brother's reassurance.

They had been walking slowly for about 10 minutes, when Dean could finally make out the clearing of the forest and their duffel bags that had been dropped earlier.

"Thank God. We're almost there Sam. Hold on man, don't give up." Dean said worriedly to a nearly unconscious Sam. Sam was struggling to keep his balance and could feel his hot, sticky blood seeping through Dean's bandage around his chest. They were nearing the Ambulance that had just pulled into the parking lot, its lights flashing wildly, when Sam could no longer keep his conscious mind awake any longer. He could feel himself slipping, and could only make out Dean's last words "Sammy, hold on!" before darkness consumed him.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean could feel Sam beginning to fall as his brother lost his battle with consciousness.

"Sammy, hold on!" Dean lowered Sam to the ground, just as the paramedics were running over to see what they could do. The eldest paramedic knew the situation was grim upon getting a closer look at the injured young man before him. The young man had lost a lot of blood. His wounds were bleeding through the make shift bandage and was unsure if the kid would be able to pull through.

"Okay sir, what's your friends name?" The older paramedic asked Dean as he made his way toward Sam.

"His name's Sam. He's my brother." Dean replied with a sense of urgency and fear in his voice.

"Okay. Sam? Can you hear me? My name is James. If you can hear me, can you open your eyes for me?" After Sam gave no response, James and his partner began ripping bags and equipment open. The next few minutes commenced in a flurry of activity, as the two paramedics began assessing Sam, and then attaching monitors to him. They asked Dean a few questions about what happened, and if Sam was allergic to anything. Dean quickly replied to their questions, focusing all his attention on his injured brother. Dean made up a false story as to why they were in the forest in the first place, as it had been closed off since the two kids had been killed.

"Emily, if you're good on your end, we need to get this kid to the hospital A.S.A.P."

"Yeah I'm good. His B.P. is really weak. I'm going to try and stabilize him when we're on the road." She said to her partner, as she inserted an IV into Sam's right arm, before placing an oxygen mask on Sam's face.

"Emily, I want you to monitor the amount of blood in his lungs. If his breathing gets compromised, insert an endotracheal tube for breathing and clear out what blood you can."

"Alright, let's go!" Emily shouted as they loaded Sam onto the stretcher and got him into the back of the Ambulance.

"Dean, follow us in your car, alright? Cops know we're comin' so they'll get traffic out of the way. Don't worry about him, he's in good hands." James said to Dean, trying not to let the older sibling know that he himself thought the chances of Sam pulling through were slim. Dean quickly grabbed their duffel bags they had used earlier with all their gear in it and threw them into the back seat of the Impala. Dean started up the Impala, and followed the Ambulance out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

With the Ambulance lights ablaze, the two vehicles took off towards the hospital, going 20, 30 miles over the speed limit. Dean was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles were turning white. Panic filled Dean's very being at how desperate the situation had become.

_Please Sam, please be okay. _Dean hated that things had gotten so out of control. He hated being helpless, especially when it came to his family. He could see the Ambulance picking up it's pace again.

_God, please let Sam be alright. I can't lose him too. _Dean hadn't prayed much in his life since his mother's death almost 23 years ago, but tonight he was praying his whole heart out to whoever would be listening to save his brother's life.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Ambulance ripped into the parking lot, coming to a screeching halt. Three doctors were waiting outside. The back door of the Ambulance opened and the two paramedics and the three doctors grabbed Sam's stretcher and ran inside of the hospital.

Dean also ripped into the parking lot right behind the Ambulance, taking the first parking spot he could find, parking the Impala. He cut the engine, and jumped out of the car. Dean quickly glanced at his watch. 12:03 A.M it read. Dean raced into the hospital, only to catch a glimpse of his brother disappearing behind the O.R doors. Dean went to the front desk and grimly began filling out the paperwork that needed his attention. Doing the paperwork was like pulling out teeth for Dean. His thoughts were solely about Sam. He hated that he couldn't do anything more for his brother. It was up to the doctors, and Sam himself, to pull him through.

When he had finished the paperwork and got up to hand it back to the front desk nurse, she mentioned to him that he should go get cleaned up. Dean looked at her for a moment, somewhat confused, before looking down his front. He had ripped one of his shirts off and only had a thin t-shirt on, plus his leather jacket. The shirt was covered in his and Sammy's blood. He had totally forgotten the wound on his shoulder, though he quickly pushed it out of his mind. Sam was his first, and foremost concern. He regretfully went back to the Impala to grab a clean shirt and pants. He tossed the duffel bags into the trunk and closed the lid. The nurse showed him where he could shower and change. He did so begrudgingly. He was in and out in under 10 minutes. Sam was still in surgery when he came back to the waiting room. A nurse noticed the blood seeping through Dean's t-shirt on his right shoulder and told him to sit down. She came back and told him that she would need to stitch him up. He sighed and followed her to a nearby room. The woman was totally hot, her soft blonde locks brushing against her rosy cheeks as she began to stitch his shoulder. Normally, Dean would have been hitting on her and would have gotten her number soon after, but Dean was totally concerned about Sam and how he was doing in surgery. After she finished stitching him back up, Dean sat back down on the white plastic hospital chair in the waiting room and rubbed his hands through his hair. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes and tried to control the emotions that were rampaging through his head.

When he finally saw a doctor come through the O.R doors roughly three hours later, Dean immediately turned his attention to the doctor in scrubs, approaching him. Dean tried not to focus his attention on the blood down the front of the man's scrubs, knowing exactly who it belonged to. It made him sick with worry and fear on his already fried nerves. Dean stood up and nausea hit him once again at the sight of his brother's blood.

"Doctor, how's my brother doing?" Dean finally said, his voice shaking with concern and fear for his brother, while his stomach was bringing up the nausea that he had fought earlier to keep down. The doctor stood in front of Dean, getting ready to tell him of his brother's fate.

"Mr. Graham, I think you should sit down."

**XXXXXXXXXX **

**A/N: So what's Sam's fate? Guess you'll have to wait till the next chapter. Again, thanks for reading!**


	5. Alive

Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry guys that it took so long to update. It has been a busy week. Once again, big thanks to my beta, Ibelieveinsam, for all her hard work. Thanks again for all the reviews guys!!**

**Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own anything relating to Supernatural.**

* * *

Previously... 

_When he finally saw a doctor come through the O.R doors roughly three hours later, Dean immediately turned his attention to the doctor in scrubs, approaching him. Dean tried not to focus his attention on the blood down the front of the man's scrubs, knowing exactly who it belonged to. It made him sick with worry and fear on his already fried nerves. Dean stood up and nausea hit him once again at the sight of his brother's blood. _

"_Doctor, how's my brother doing?" Dean finally said, his voice shaking with concern and fear for his brother, while his stomach was bringing up the nausea that he had fought earlier to keep down. The doctor stood in front of Dean, getting ready to tell him of his brother's fate. _

"_Mr. Graham, I think you should sit down."_

* * *

Dean sat down hesitantly. _Oh God. Please tell me he's alright._

The doctor sat down beside him and adjusted the glasses on his face.

"Your brother has lost a lot of blood. He has dozens of lacerations all over his chest, arm, leg and his sides. He has two cracked ribs and has what looks like a large bite mark on his left shoulder. He had some minor internal bleeding and a small puncture to his right lung. We were able to patch that up without incident. We were lucky in that area, considering what happened. We gave him three units of blood during his surgery. We don't believe there are any head injuries, other than a few good bumps and stitches. I got to say, your brother's a fighter. I hate to admit it, but it didn't look good for your brother when he was brought in here. He surprised us all, and as long as there aren't any serious complications, he should make a full recovery." It was a good thing Dean was sitting down while he heard the news, because he knew his knees would have given out on him. Every emotion he had been experiencing since Sam had entered the O.R had reached their pinnacle. Tears were threatening to escape from his eyes as he let out a sigh of relief to relieve some of the emotions that were bottled up inside him.

_I knew you could do it Sammy. _Dean mentally cheered for his brother.

"When can I go see my brother?" Dean asked.

"They are going to be putting your brother into ICU, room 109, just down this hallway. I'll let the nurses know who you are and that you're on your way." With that, the doctor stood up, turned around and headed back into the O.R room, presumably going to clean himself off. Dean wasted no time heading to room 109, where he would wait until the nurses brought Sam in from the O.R.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

About 15 minutes after Dean arrived in room 109, Sam was wheeled into the room. Dean was taken aback at the way his brother looked. Sam's face was swollen, with stitches along the left side of his chin and a few stitches on his right cheek. His left shoulder and arm were also wrapped, with a small amount of blood seeping through. An IV was embedded in Sam's right hand giving him nutrients and another one in his right forearm, which was giving his brother some much needed blood. The nurse's soft voice broke Dean's focus on his brother.

"Your brother's on strong medications right now. He probably won't wake up for a few hours. He's going to need a lot of rest. I'll bring in a chair for you to sit on." With that, the nurse left the room and returned a few moments later with a chair in hand. Dean mumbled a thank you and took the chair and placed it near Sam's bed. Dean sat down and watched his brother's chest rise and fall from beneath the covers, giving Dean the comfort in knowing that Sam was still with him. Dean was trying not to let tears get the better of him. He hadn't seen Sam this injured before, and Dean didn't want to ever have to see Sam in this position ever again.

"Don't worry Sam. Your awesome big brother is going to hunt that evil S.O.B down and make it pay for what it did to you." Dean's voice shook with anger as he thought how badly that Vyriayne was going to get its ass pummeled. Yet, Dean knew he couldn't kill this thing by himself. This job required at least two people to kill the damn thing, being that the ritual needed two people. Sam couldn't help him this time, and Dean knew Sam would kick his ass if he thought he was considering going after the Vyriayne by himself.

"Guess we're going to need help on this one." Dean whispered as he gently patted Sam's right arm. Dean searched his pockets until he found his cell phone. He reluctantly left his brother's side to go outside the hospital to make a phone call. Once outside, Dean dialed the phone and waited for the other man to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Came a gruff voice at the other end of the phone.

"Hey Bobby. Look I need your help on this hunt..." Dean took the next five minutes to fill the older hunter in.

"Yeah, no problem. Sorry to hear Sam was at the receiving end of one of those things. They're pretty vicious. I can get there by tomorrow evening. I'll see you then. Oh, the next time you want help, don't wake up an old man at 3:00 in the morning."

"Yeah yeah, an old man needs his beauty sleep. I'll see ya later Bobby."

"Bye Dean." Dean closed his cell phone and placed it back into his pocket. He tried hard not to run right back to Sam's room because he knew the nurses would have a fit seeing him running like a mad man. He finally made it back to Sam's room and sat down in his seat.

"Looks like Bobby's gonna be helping us finish this hunt. Don't worry Sam. We'll save that girl from your vision. We'll stop it from happening, okay?" Dean's only reply was the sounds of Sam's monitors clicking and beeping away.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Though Dean wouldn't ever admit it to Sam, he needed some contact with his brother, to reassure him that Sam was still alive and fighting. Dean gently picked up his brother's hand and held it in a strong but reassuring grip. Dean hadn't done this since they were both kids. Dean used to hold Sam's hand years ago to comfort Sam when he would get really sick when they were little. Just holding big brother's hand would make all the monsters go away. Even the flu was no match for Sam's big brother. Dean was happy when he was able to chase away his little brother's nightmares with reassuring words and merely sitting up and talking with his brother about what monsters were chasing him in his dreams. It seemed so long ago that Dean had been able to do that. His brother was now an adult and the simple ways of comfort that used to work when Sam was little just didn't help him now. His brother's nightmares had a tendency to come true, much to Dean's horror, and his fear for his little brother was ever present now that the dangers were much higher. They had already lost both their Mom and Dad to the damn demon, and now the damn thing wanted his brother. Dean knew that wouldn't happen.

_Over my dead body. No way in hell is he getting his hands on Sam. Nobody picks on my little brother without dealing with me first! _With Dean's resolution firmly in place, he had to make sure Sam fully recovered from this latest incident. Looking over at his brother's beaten and battered face, Dean swore he wouldn't let the Vyriayne, The Demon, or anything else harm his younger sibling. Come hell or high water, that was Dean's job. Looking out for his pain-in-the-ass little brother. Dean wouldn't have it any other way. Coming out of his thoughts, Dean's grip on Sam's hand increased.

"Nothings going to happen to you Sammy. Not while I'm around." Dean just hoped that Sam wouldn't take this as a 'chick-flick moment' and hold it against him and not to mention bug the crap out of him if he woke up in the next few minutes.

_This isn't a 'chick-flick' moment, this is a 'you almost died and I need to make sure you're still alive' moment._ Dean thought to himself, with a small grin escaping onto his dry lips. A nurse came in and asked Dean to wait outside while she fixed some of Sam's bandages that were bleeding and needing repair. Dean dragged himself down the hall and grabbed himself some coffee.

"Yuck! How does the hospital drink this slop that they call coffee? I think it might have been coffee once upon a time..." Dean said aloud to himself, looking around to see if any hospital staff had overheard his sarcastic remark. While trying to get the coffee to stay down, Dean hurried back to his brother's room to find the nurse finishing up with Sam's bandages. Dean took his seat next to his brother, and watched his brother sleep, wondering when Sam was going to wake up and in what condition he would be in when he did wake up.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_Dean... I gotta know if Dean's okay..._ Was Sam's first thought as he began to awaken from his drug induced sleep. Sam could hardly feel any pain, due to the dose of morphine he had been given. Sam could just make out the sound of Dean's voice, just beyond the darkness that his body was trying to keep him in. Sam forced his eyes open, his blurry vision obstructing his ability to make out where his brother was.

"Dean?" Sam's raspy voice sputtered out.

Dean had been sitting by Sam's side for the past 5 ½ hours, having kept vigil over his sleeping brother to ensure nothing bad could happen to him while he was asleep. He had been about to fall asleep, fatigue and exhaustion finally wearing him down, when he glanced over at his brother and noticed Sam's right hand was moving slightly.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean wasn't sure if he had been imagining things or not. As he leaned closer to Sam, Sam's hand moved again. Sam's eyes were also moving behind his eyelids. Dean called out to his brother again.

"Sammy?" Dean was rewarded when Sam slowly opened his eyes.

"Dean?" Though Sam's voice was low and slightly hoarse and his eyes were unfocused, Dean couldn't be happier to see Sam finally awake. Relief radiated from him.

"Hey Sammy. How ya doing?"

"M'fine Dean. What about you? Did you get that shoulder looked at?" Sam asked as he tried to sit up to get a better look at his brother, only to hiss in pain as his chest and ribs refused to allow such movement.

"Sam! Dude, just lie down, take it easy. You've been through a lot in the past few hours. And I'm fine Sam. Wound wasn't that deep, and I got the hot nurse to do the stitches." Dean added as Sam laid back down, having given Dean an impatient 'You haven't answered my question and I'm about to ask you again' look. Sam merely shook his head and smiled slightly.

"What time is it?" Sam asked, while trying to find a comfortable position in his bed. Sam was unsure of how exactly he even got to the hospital, nor how long he'd even been here.

"It's just after 9 A.M." Dean said as he checked his watch.

"What day is it? Wednesday?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. We got here just after midnight. You were in surgery for about three hours before they brought you in here." Dean said just loud enough for Sam to hear, as he himself did not want to have to recite what had happened in the last 9 hours.

The drugs in Sam's system were still quite strong and the urge to sleep was beginning to become overwhelming for Sam. Sam tried to fight off the call of sleep, but his body was betraying him as his eyes began to close.

"Sam, why don't you go back to sleep? Just take it easy alright?" Dean could tell Sam was trying to stay awake, but was aware that Sam was fighting against some heavy duty painkillers and was going to be losing this battle of wills.

"Dean... You... need some... rest... you look.. like crap, Dean." Sam was determined to make sure that Dean got some rest, as he figured Dean hadn't slept since the previous day.

"Sam, I've never looked like 'crap' in my entire life. That's why I get all the girls." Dean grinned. Sam rolled his eyes and locked eyes with his brother. Dean held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, I'll get some rest Sam, don't worry. Just concentrate on getting better, alright?" Sam managed to nod his head before he fell into the clutches of sleep. Dean was relieved to have talked to Sam, even though it was brief. Knowing that his brother would get better, Dean was able to let go of some of the stress that he had been holding since Sam had gone into the OR only 9 hours ago.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean had fallen asleep in the chair beside Sam's bed not long after Sam had closed his eyes. Dean opened his eyes when he felt someone enter Sam's room. A short and very cute brunette woman approached Sam's bed, checking his vitals and bandages. Noticing that Dean was awake, she focused her attention on him.

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to wake you. I was just checking your brother's vitals."

"Don't worry about it. I was starting to wake up anyways." Dean replied, even though she was the reason he had woken up.

"How's my brother doing?" She continued to write on her clipboard as she answered Dean's question.

"His vitals are doing better then they were a few hours ago. So far there doesn't seem to be any infection, which is good. His blood pressure is much better. I'm going to take the IV out of his arm, after the last bag is finished. Overall, your brother's doing remarkably well." She said as she finished writing on the clipboard and headed for the door.

"Yeah well that's Sam for ya. He's stubborn that way. Always gets himself out of tough situations." Dean stated, with a hint of pride in his voice for his younger brother.

_Stubborn, tough, and thick headed. Yeah that's definitely like Sammy._ Dean thought to himself.

"Well I'm not surprised. I'll come back later to check up on Sam." The nurse turned around, and left to go and check on other patients.

Sam stirred slowly, having only caught the very end of the conversation.

"What were you guys talking about? You weren't talking about how devilishly good-looking I am were you?" Sam smiled weakly as he used some of his brother's well-known humor. It worked as Dean turned around and focused on his brother. A small grin appeared on his face as he replied to Sam's previous statement.

"Of course not Sam, we both know that I get all the girls because I'm the handsome brother. Besides she was way out of your league Sammy, and just perfect for me." Dean grinned like an idiot as Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's comment. They just looked at each other and both chuckled.

"Well I'm going to grab another coffee. It's nowhere near the best coffee Sam, but it's better than nothing I guess. You want anything?" Dean asked as he got off the chair.

"Na, not hungry, or thirsty for that matter. You go ahead. I'll get something later." Dean nodded and left the room to go and get another 'once upon a time' cup of coffee.

Sam knew the medication was wearing off, as the pain from his chest, shoulder, and cracked ribs were reminding him of his run in with the Vyriayne.

"Damn. Those teeth and claws were a bitch." Sam murmured to himself. Dean re-entered the room a few minutes after going to get the coffee. Dean didn't want to leave Sam's side for too long, in case Sam needed him. Upon reaching his seat, Dean could see Sam's jaw clench and noticed Sam grabbing the sheets with a vice-like grip.

"Sam? What's wrong?" Dean tried to mask his concern, but knew Sam could see right through it.

"It's nothing. Just my chest and shoulder hurt. Ribs too, but that's to be expected." Sam said through clenched teeth.

"Sam, I'll go get a nurse alright? Get her to give you something for the pain." Dean was getting up from his chair to get some help for Sam, when he felt a strong hand wrap around his wrist. Dean turned his head around towards Sam.

"No, Dean. I don't want the pain medication right now. It's not that bad, really. You know that I hate morphine, and more than likely that's what they would give me anyway." Dean was very hesitant to give in to Sam's request. He could tell Sam was in a lot of pain and it killed Dean to see him like that. He also knew that Sam did indeed hate morphine with a passion. It was something that Dean himself didn't like to take. When Dean looked at Sam he knew that he would be giving in, as Sam flashed him his most deadly pair of puppy dog eyes that he possessed in his arsenal. Dean sighed, defeated.

"Alright, but if it gets worse Sam, then your just going to have to suck it up. I mean it, if it gets any worse..."

"Alright. I promise." Sam was happy that he had gotten his way. He knew he would whenever he gave Dean his 'puppy dog eyes' as Dean had called it. It had worked so well when they were kids when Sam wanted something and was still just as effective now as it had been then. Dean sat back down on his chair and sipped his coffee.

_Damn those puppy dog eyes Sam. I bet you know it too, that you'll always get your way when you do that. _Dean surmised.

"So Dean, what are we going to do about my other vision? We only have until tomorrow night to figure out who that woman is and stop her from going anywhere near that forest."

"We? You are not going anywhere. I however, will meet up with Bobby and we'll save the damsel in distress, alright? Don't worry about it. We'll make sure that she doesn't get hurt." Sam slumped back into his bed.

"You called Bobby? When?"

"Called him before you woke up the first time. The ritual needs two people and I'm not about to ask a local hill billy to help me out with it, as he would be getting the psychiatric ward on my ass. Besides, you aren't exactly at your best at the moment, so I called Bobby to see if he could help us out a bit. He'll be here by nightfall." Sam let out a small sigh. He felt bad that Dean had had to go and call Bobby to help them out. Sam was mad at himself for not being stronger and being able to help Dean finish off this damn spirit. He was worried that the Vyriayne might attack his brother again or go for Bobby. Sam didn't need someone else getting hurt on his account or because of his lack of ability to finish this job.

Dean could see the shift in Sam's posture and could tell that Sam was deep in thought, as well as trying to manage the pain that he was in. He could also tell his brother was berating himself and it was easy for him to know what it was that was bothering his brother.

"Sam, this isn't you fault. If I had been able to shoot the damn thing you wouldn't have ended up in hicks-ville hospital." Dean still felt guilty that he had not been aware of the Vyriayne's whereabouts when it was about to attack him when he was going for his gun. Sam had pushed him down and taken the blow for him. Dean felt it was his fault that Sam had ended up in the hospital in the first place.

Sam couldn't believe Dean was apologizing to him for something that needed no apology for. He knew what Dean was referring to.

"Dean, you can't blame yourself for what happened to me. Crap happens man. You of all people know that. I certainly don't blame you and would do it again in a heart beat." Dean felt a slight bit of guilt lift off his shoulders as his brother told him that he didn't blame him for his abrupt stay at the hospital, but still held himself accountable for Sam's injuries.

"Dude, we are getting as close to a 'chick flick moment' as I'm willing to get. And for the record, you ever do that again, I'll kick your ass. But, thanks Sam." Dean offered a quick smirk to his brother so as to get the full gratitude across in a way in which he wouldn't have been able to say using words. Sam understood completely.

"You're welcome." Sam gave his brother a small smile, knowing his brother still blamed himself, but would eventually move past some of the guilt that was weighing him down. It amazed Sam sometimes that he and Dean understood each other so well. A lot of times, words just weren't needed to be said for an intended meaning to get across.

"Hey Dean, can you grab my laptop for me?"

"Why? You should be relaxing Sam, not surfing the net for porn in your condition." Dean grinned at his shell shocked brother.

"Dean! I do not surf the Internet for porn! I want to get some research done on the area surrounding the forest. If someone is controlling these things, they would have to be close the forest's outer rim in order to keep them within the forest's boundaries." Sam said hotly. Dean sighed.

"Alright, but I want you to take it easy alright? I'm just as good with research on computers as you are." Sam chuckled lightly.

"Dude, you thought "My Space" was a porn sight! You hardly have the patience to sit in front of a screen for a few minutes, never mind a few hours looking up information. Patience is not your greatest strength, Dean." Dean turned a slight shade of red. Dean huffed in response.

"I can manage a computer, geek boy. Just cause you have a bit more patience than me..." Dean noticed Sam wince and cover his ribs with his right arm.

"Alright, since I'm the best big brother ever, I'll go and get you your laptop. But you have to take it easy, alright? Don't over do it." Sam nodded his head. Noticing Dean looking at him with concerned eyes, Sam took the direct approach.

"Dean I'll be fine, okay? Just go get my laptop, I'll get some research done, and then I'll rest. Alright?" Dean was still unsure, but got his butt in gear as Sam flashed him another marvelous 'puppy dog eyes' look. Dean slowly nodded his head and took off to go and fetch Sam his laptop. Making his way out of the hospital, he ran into Kayla, a hot young nurse who happened to be looking for him. Seeing how protective he was over his brother, she was instantly attracted to this young man. And the fact that he was totally hot and with the 'wildlife service' was just too appealing for the young nurse. Small talk ensued and once again, Winchester charm got Dean yet another phone number.

"Man, it's good to be me!" Dean gleefully announced to his 'baby' as he got into the Impala. The Impala roared, and Dean made his way over to the motel where Sam's laptop was waiting. Going into the motel and picking up Sam's laptop, Dean put it on the passenger seat. Then he started up the Impala and began the drive back towards the hospital.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Look guys! No cliffhanger this time! lol. Thanks again for reading and or reviewing guys!!**


	6. To Find The Hunter

**Chapter 6**

**A/N: Okay. Here is the next chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews guys!!**

**Disclaimer: It never changes... I don't own Supernatural. Eric Kripke does.**

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Dean was returning to the hospital when his cell phone rang. Dean pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and flipped his phone open. "Yeah?"

"Hey Dean. I'm about four and a half hours from your location. How's Sam doing?"

"He's doing alright and somehow has got me doing errands for him already." A harsh laugh came from the other end of the phone.

"So when are you wanting to go after the sucker? Tonight?" Dean thought about it. Sure he wanted to kill that S.O.B and make it suffer for what it did to Sam. Not to mention to stop it from killing that woman from Sam's vision, but they needed to also find out who was controlling the thing.

"I think we should dig around first and find out who's the master pulling the damn thing's strings."

"Yeah alright. Well we'll get started when I get there. Be there soon. See ya then." Dean hung up his phone and put it back into his jacket pocket.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"So what exactly are you looking for Sam?" Dean asked as Sam began clicking away on his laptop that he had placed on a table in front of him.

"Chances are the person controlling these things lives near the forest. They have to be within close proximity to the thing. So I'm looking up who lives near the area."

"College boy strikes again." Dean replied sarcastically. Sam merely rolled his eyes in response. A few minutes later, Sam had been able to break into the city's data system and get the information that they required.

"Here it is. 16 houses within a close enough proximity to the forest, plus a list of the people owning the houses." Sam covered a yawn as he pushed the laptop so Dean could take a look.

"Well that's still quite a few places to check out in only a couple hours' time." Dean noticed Sam looked exhausted.

"Sam, you should get some rest alright? I don't want you to wear yourself out." Dean was determined to get his way this time. Sam couldn't really argue with Dean for once. He really was tired.

"Yeah alright. Wake me up when Bobby gets here, alright?"

"Yeah okay." Dean answered as he scribbled down the names and addresses of all the people living within the vicinity of the forest. Sam closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep. Dean shut the computer down and placed it on his brother's bedside table. Dean could tell that Sam wasn't sleeping, if the grimace of pain on his sibling's face was any indication.

"Sam? How 'bout we get you some pain medication alright? I'll ask them to give you something other than morphine okay? Or else your going to have a hard time falling asleep." Sam had been fighting against using any kind of pain medication all day because they made him very sluggish and drowsy. But he also realized that it would be nice to try and sleep without being in pain. He also knew that Dean would stop his mother hen routine if he gave in to his brother's suggestion. "Alright, but make sure they don't give me morphine."

"Deal." Dean left Sam's bedside and walked out of his brother's room to go and fetch a nurse so she could give his brother something for the pain.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Soon after he began his hunt for a nurse, he found the blonde one that had stitched him up when Sam had been in surgery. He stopped her and she listened to his request. She agreed hesitantly, knowing about Sam's injuries and was shocked to hear that he hadn't had any kind of pain medication all day. She followed Dean back to Sam's room and injected a strong painkiller into Sam's IV bag. Not long after, Sam fell asleep.

Just over an hour after Sam fell asleep, Bobby wandered into the hospital. Dean was waiting for him by the front desk.

"Hey Bobby. No troubles finding your way over here I take it? Course, you took forever. Even an 80 year old woman could drive here faster than you can." Dean commented with a sly grin, as Bobby made his way over to Dean.

"Just because I care to drive slower than 130 MPH and keep my head intact doesn't mean I'm slow." Bobby grumbled back.

"How's Sam doing?" Bobby asked as they headed towards Sam's room.

"He's doing alright, considering what happened. He's still exhausted and in a lot of pain, but he's too stubborn to take much pain medication." Dean answered with a slight bit of frustration seeping into his words. Bobby chuckled.

"Well he is a Winchester after all. You all would have your arm nearly amputated and still not take painkillers for it. You Winchester's are all stubborn and thick headed to boot."

They had just entered Sam's room when Dean stopped and turned to face Bobby.

"Me? Stubborn? Na I'm quite docile and reasonable. I'm actually the best patient any doctor or nurse could ask for..."

"Yeah, if they want to be thrown insults or to be hit on every time they step into your room. Or if they want to practice 'catch the escaping crazed patient' just to add some entertainment to the place." Came the curt reply from the recently awoken Sam Winchester. Dean and Bobby turned around to face Sam.

"Sam, you know I make my hospital trips exceptional for the hospital staff. Gotta give them something to talk about other than my fantastic smile and awesome bod." Dean flashed his brother a wicked grin. Sam merely scoffed.

"Hey Sam, how ya doing?" Bobby asked as he and Dean grabbed a chair and placed them beside Sam's bed and sat down.

"Well I feel like I got run over by a Vyriayne, but other than that I'm fine," Sam replied, making sure none of the hospital personnel were in the vicinity.

"Yeah, it certainly looks like it dude." Dean gave a slight grin.

"You guys got a lead on who the person is that's controlling this thing?" Bobby asked.

"No, but the person has to be within a close proximity to the forest in order to maintain control over this thing. There are 16 houses that are located near the forest's outer edge. Start looking there." Sam replied while trying to stifle a yawn before continuing.

"You need to locate the pendant that will have Indian summoning symbols on it. It will be atop of an alter, or shrine. The shrine will be about five feet in height, made of solid oak with carvings of symbols on all sides. The pendant is sitting on top of it. Destroy it and you sever the control the person has over the thing. But that also means the one controlling it is in danger of being attacked by the spirit as well, as they tend to retaliate against the one its been serving." Dean and Bobby digested the information that Sam had given them.

"So, how are you wanting to go about this then?" Dean thought long and hard about Bobby's question. Normally Dean would be just fine going in 'gun's a blazing' but this required a little bit more thought than that.

"Hey Sam? Those houses are in a Cul-De-Sac right? Brand new sub-division?" Sam nodded his head.

"Do we still have those stupid outfits from the gig in Chicago?"

"Yeah, why?" Sam was wondering where Dean was going with this.

"Well we, being Bobby and I, can tell those gullible folks out there that there's a gas leak in the area and they need to vacate the area for a few hours while we fix it."

"You know, being that it's a small town and if you don't screw it up, it might actually work." Sam was actually impressed in how simplistic an idea Dean could come up with that had a possibility of actually working.

"Of course it'll work! I thought of it!" Dean said with a mock grin on his face.

"You boys banter worse than an old married couple." Bobby said with a small grin spreading across his chapped lips.

Both boys replied in unison, "No we don't!!"

Bobby just chuckled at the sight in front of him. Bobby could tell that behind the bickering and quick remarks, it was their way of letting the other one know that the other cared. It was also just plain funny to watch these two tease the heck out of each other.

Bobby left the hospital an hour after he arrived so he could check himself into a motel room. Dean sauntered off to go and see if that attractive blonde nurse was still wandering around the hospital, leaving a very bored Sam lying down in his hospital bed.

"God, how long do I have to stay here?" Sam muttered to himself. To say that Winchester's didn't like hospitals would be an understatement. Since Sam and Dean had been kids, they had gone to the hospital more times than they could count. This caused a huge amount of hatred of hospitals because of what they represented. So they did everything in their power to avoid a trip to the hospital if it was possible.

Dean quietly stepped into Sam's room with a cup of hot coffee not half an hour later than when he had left. Sensing that someone had entered his room, Sam called out.

"That you, Dean?"

_Crap. He's awake. _Dean lowered his head and looked at the floor. He had tried to be quiet, so that Sam could get the rest he knew Sam needed. But Sam was wide awake and it would be some time before he fell asleep again.

"Yeah it's me Sam." Dean sat down in his seat next to Sam's bed.

"Hey Dean? Did you ask the doctor when I could get out of here?" Dean could hear the hopefulness in his little brother's voice and it made him chuckle lightly.

_Some things never change._ Dean was hesitant to pull Sam out until Dean knew his brother was well on his way to recovery.

"The doctor says you should stay here for about a week."

"Well we both know I'm not staying here for a week. Give me till tomorrow morning and I'll be good to go." Sam replied as he closed his eyes.

"Sam, you just had surgery last night. You almost died and your just gonna be 'good to go' by morning? I don't think so, kiddo. You are going to stay here for at least a few days, just until you get your strength back." Sam had opened his eyes to glare at Dean. He opened his mouth to argue when Dean interrupted him.

"Sam, just do it for me, alright? You won't have to stay here for a week, just a few days to rest. I promise you it'll go by fast and then we'll leave this crap-hole for good." Sam sighed and nodded his head, defeated. The pleading look in his brother's eyes made it impossible to argue with. Sam realized that if Dean was asking Sam to stay in the hospital, rather than grabbing him and taking off in the Impala, then Sam must have really scared Dean. Dean never begged or pleaded with anyone, as far as Sam knew. The only time that Dean had begged Sam for anything was when Dean had told Sam Dad's secret after the Rivergrove incident, asking Sam for a few days to lay low and figure out their next move. Sam still felt guilty for leaving Dean that night in pursuit of answers about who he was and what his destiny entailed. Sam took a deep breath, and gave in.

"Alright, Dean. I'll stay. But only for a few days." Dean met Sam's gaze and Dean nodded his head in agreement. Dean sat in the hospital chair and talked with his brother while taking sips of his coffee, in-between conversations of the job and where they should go after Sam got out of the hospital. It wasn't long before Sam had closed his eyes and had fallen into a dreamless sleep. A comfort that was rarely afforded to the youngest Winchester. Dean sat back, watching Sam as he tossed his sheets off the bed. Sighing, Dean got off the chair and retrieved the blankets and placed them back onto his brother, bringing the sheets up to his neck. Sitting back down, Dean could see that in sleep, his brother looked much younger than his 23 years. Dean's protectiveness soared to new heights when their father died. Sam was the only family he had left. He wasn't about to let anything bad happen to his brother. Not while he was around.

"Nothings going to happen to you Sam. Not while I'm around." Dean whispered as Sam slept on.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The sun was shining through the old dusty windows of motel room 08. Dean Winchester groaned as the sunlight hit his eyes, causing the snoozing Winchester to awaken abruptly. Sam had convinced Dean to return to the motel room to get some much needed sleep. With the threat of having his butt handed to him when Sam was fully healed, Dean hesitantly returned to the motel room to shower and get some sleep.

"Damn sun. Couldn't it have been a cloudy day today?" Dean said aloud to his motel room that gave no reply. Dean checked the alarm clock on the table.

"7:14 A.M. Man, is it that hard to ask to sleep in till noon for once?" Dean groaned and rolled out of bed. He walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. He changed clothes and washed up. He left the bathroom and picked up his phone. He gave Bobby a quick call and they decided to meet at the hospital, in Sam's room to discuss the plans for taking out the Vyriayne and the one controlling the damn thing. Dean knew that this was the day that Sam's vision was going to take place. They didn't have much time. They needed to work fast.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam was wide awake in his hospital room. The sun was making the room bright in its glistening light.

"I should have grabbed some shades." Sam muttered to himself.

_Hmm... I'm starting to sound like Dean..._ Sam had slept straight through the night, the first time in a long time. But Sam was a Winchester, and that meant that being cooped up in a hospital room for a few days was like keeping a lion in a cage. Sam was more than ready to leave, but at his brother's request, promised to stay a few more days. After hobbling out of bed and limping over to the bathroom door and getting cleaned up and back to bed, Sam slumped back into his pillow, waiting for the nurse to bring him his 'breakfast'.

_Hope Dean will bring me back something resembling food when he comes back to visit... _Sam wishfully thought. While trying to eat his breakfast, Sam mulled over his previous vision. They still had no idea who she was. Dean had told him he had asked the nursing staff and some of the store clerks downtown if they recognized anyone fitting that description. Dean hadn't had any luck. Sam was more than frustrated at his predicament. He wanted to finish this hunt, and perhaps get answers from another person like himself. A psychic. Sam was broken from his thoughts when a familiar voice echoed through the hospital hallway.

"If he's still asleep, maybe I can put shaving cream on his hand, and make him smack himself in the face. I have my cell phone on me, I could take a picture. I'd never let him forget it." Dean's chuckle could be heard bouncing off the walls as he headed towards Sam's room.

"Leave poor Sam alone. He's got enough on his plate without you irritating the crap out of him." Bobby answered dryly.

_Ah, Bobby. Always got an ally in you, don't I? _Sam knew that Dean wouldn't try anything with Bobby around. Though of course Bobby wasn't their father, both boys respected the older hunter who had a fatherly way about him. To Bobby, the Winchester boys were like his sons.

"Bobby, you sure know how to be a kill joy don't you?" Dean whispered as both he and Bobby quietly entered Sam's room.

"Dean, the next time you want to pull a prank on me, don't talk so loud so that I can hear you." Sam said flatly as Dean and Bobby took a seat.

After discussing all the details of the plan, Dean and Bobby got up and got ready to leave. Bobby said a quick "See ya later." and headed down the hospital hallway, back towards his truck.

"I'll call you when we get the guy, alright Sam? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that woman. We'll save her Sammy. Maybe I'll even get her phone number..." Sam sighed at Dean's one track mind.

Sam was more than frustrated with himself. He couldn't go with his brother to finish the hunt, and he couldn't even help prevent his vision from becoming a reality. It's not that he didn't have faith in his brother's abilities, but this shouldn't have been Dean's responsibility. This was his.

"Yeah, alright. Just stay out of trouble, okay Dean?"

In an almost inaudible voice, Sam added, "And be careful, Dean." Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's overbearing concern.

"I'm always fine Sam, and I'm always careful. You know that. I'm perfectly perfect at everything I do." Dean grinned while Sam rolled his eyes. Dean headed out for the door when he stopped and called to Sam.

"Don't try and do anything that will wear yourself out, ya hear? Or I'll seriously have to kick your ass, Sam." Sam merely scoffed.

"Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean retorted playfully, as he headed out of Sam's hospital room.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Bobby had managed to get the sheriff to go and talk with the residents living in that 16 house Cul-De-Sac and get them all out of there so he and Dean could 'fix the gas leak'. Dean was grinning from ear to ear from how simplistic and brilliant an idea he had come up with.

_Sammy's not the only one with a big brain._ Dean thought smugly to himself. It was near 1:30 in the afternoon when the sheriff had given them the go ahead. He had gotten everyone out of the area and promised not to let anyone into the area until Dean and Bobby were done. The sheriff took off and blocked the road that led into the Cul-De-Sac. Dean drove the Impala up to the first set of houses. Both he and Bobby got out of the Impala and gathered their belongings that they were going to need out of the Impala's trunk.

"Well Bobby, you wanna take that half of the Cul-De-Sac and I'll take this half?" Dean asked as he closed the Impala's trunk.

"Yeah, sure. You find anything, just give me a call." With that, Bobby took off in the direction of his eight houses. Dean moved into the first house, easily picking the front door lock and letting himself in. He knew what he was looking for. A small, 6 inch in diameter looking pendant that would be atop a shrine. All he had to do was destroy it, and then destroy the spirit. Without the pendant, no one could summon these ugly beasts again. Because of the size of the shrine it would most likely be located in a basement, a large closet, or in a shed outside. The one controlling the beast would have to say a prayer in front of the shrine to keep control over it every few days so it would have to be readily accessible. It took Dean a half hour to get through the first house.

"Bobby, you got anything?" Dean was already moving into the second house and wanted to know if Bobby had any luck with his house.

"Nothing. Almost finished the second house."

"Wait, What? The second house? Not looking very thoroughly, are you Bobby?" Dean was flabbergasted. Bobby chuckled.

"Not getting slow there, are you Dean? It would be sad if an old man like me beat you in a race, eh?" Dean merely grumbled a complaint about his houses being three times the size of Bobby's houses and turned off his phone after hearing Bobby howl in laughter at the other end of the phone. Dean moved through the second house a bit faster, and still there was nothing.

Two hours later, Dean and Bobby both had not seen any shrine, nor the pendant. Dean moved into the fifth house, an average two-story with a white picket fence with the lush green grass and perfect little garden by the porch. Dean felt queasy just being here. Normal life was so foreign to him. Having closed the front door, Dean instantly knew that something was wrong. He had just left the kitchen and wandered into the living room when the smell of old blood reached his senses. Blood was dried up along the left wall, a large smear covering its surface. Dean had his gun out and dug around for his phone in his jacket pocket and called Bobby.

"Bobby? Yeah I got something. I think the Vyriayne might have been here already. Yeah house 834. No I haven't found the Shrine yet. Alright see ya." Dean closed his phone and placed it back in his left jacket pocket. He grabbed his flashlight and moved with stealth along the dark corridor, following the blood trail down the hallway and into the basement. Dean knew what it was he would find when he got down the stairs, but the sight of it was still just as gruesome. This man, a Mr. Kravesalt according to the documents that Sam had pulled up about the owners, had been ripped apart. He was literally in pieces. What made Dean want to throw up was not just the stench or the scene in front of him, but the idea that this almost happened to Sam just the other day. The idea that he could have lost Sam, well it made him sick to think about it. Fighting back the bile in his throat, Dean moved across the basement and took a look around. 20 seconds into his search, he found the shrine. The pendant was sitting right on top. Creaking could be heard just above Dean's head as he looked up. Dean grabbed the pendant and hid against the back wall. The creaking started again as whoever it was, was coming down the stairs. Creak...creak...creak... Dean's heart was beating faster as adrenaline kicked in. Just as the person/thing reached the bottom stairs, Dean had his gun out, ready to fire.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: What's at the bottom of the stairs? Guess you'll just have to wait and see, lol. A few more chapters to go guys. More action to come!!**


	7. Warnings

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: Alright. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has left reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Supernatural.**

* * *

_Previously:_

_Creaking could be heard just above Dean's head as he looked up. Dean grabbed the pendant and hid against the back wall. The creaking started again as whoever it was, was coming down the stairs. Creak...creak...creak... Dean's heart was beating faster as adrenaline kicked in. Just as the person/thing reached the bottom stairs, Dean had his gun out, ready to fire._

* * *

"Whoa! Dean, it's just me." Bobby said as he came face to face with Dean's hand gun.

"Damn it Bobby! I could've shot you in the ass! Next time, say something!" Dean had already put his gun into the back of his waistband.

"Yeah, and had a thing gotten a hold of you and was unaware of my presence, calling out your name would have been a brilliant idea..." Bobby answered sarcastically. Dean knew Bobby was right, but didn't care at the moment.

"Pretty grim look around here." Bobby grimaced when he looked around at what was once Mr. Kravesalt.

"Yeah no kidding. The thing decided to use this guy as decorations for the basement." Dean shook his head.

"Why in the hell would this guy be summoning and controlling two Vyriaynes?" Bobby asked quietly as he took a look at the shrine after Dean showed him the pendant.

"Don't know. But he should have known the risks when he summoned them." Dean was pissed off because it was thanks to this guy that his brother had been injured, and had almost lost his life.

"Dean, you should call Sam. Tell him what we found out. Maybe he can get us some more information on this guy."

"Yeah, you're right." Dean turned back towards the stairs and climbed up and went into the living room and pulled out his cell phone.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam had been anxious all day. He wanted to help out his brother and Bobby. The threat of his vision was still playing around in his mind. When his phone finally rang, he quickly grabbed it and flipped the phone open. Dean's name was displayed as the caller.

"Finally." Sam muttered. He flipped open his phone and answered his brother's call. "Hey. Did you find it yet?"

"Yeah. We found the pendant alright, but we also found the homeowner. Let's just say he's become a kind of wall decoration." Sam could hear the distaste in his brother's words. Sam knew what it stemmed from, but decided not to bring it up.

"Damn it. Did you destroy the pendant? Dean?" Sam called his brother's name after hearing something hit the floor on Dean's end.

"Hold on. I'm looking at something." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Hey Sam? I'm sending you a picture of a girl. Let me know when you get it." Sam didn't quite understand his brother at times. "Dean! Quit thinking with your downstairs brain and use your upstairs brain please!"

"Just take a look at it will ya?" Sighing quietly, Sam waited until his phone beeped, signaling an incoming message.

"Yeah hold on then." Sam clicked a few buttons and opened up his brother's text message. Sam's jaw dropped as he stared at the picture. In the picture was a young woman, standing next to a man in his early 20's outside a small cabin surrounded by trees. A stream could be seen in the background. Sam instantly recognized the woman.

"Dean! This is the woman from my vision! How the hell..."

"Hehe. Guess it's a good thing I accidentally knocked the picture off the table then. She kind of looked like the woman you described earlier, though your description was kind of vague." Sam felt somewhat relieved. But that feeling didn't last long.

"Dean, did you look at the back of the picture?" Dean scratched the back of his head, wondering what the hell Sam would want to have him look at the back of the picture, when it dawned on him.

_Well DUH! _Dean mentally smacked himself at his slow train of thought. Dean opened up the back of the picture frame and took out the picture.

"It says Kirsten and Scott: 2005" Sam took a look at the picture again. Something about that guy seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Sam, can you get some info on the homeowner? See what kind of relationship he might have had with Kirsten?"

"Yeah. It'll take some time though. Give me about an hour. I should have some answers by then."

"Yeah okay, college boy. Give me a shout when you've got some information."

"Yeah, I will."

"Alright, bye Sam."

"Bye." Both boys ended the conversation by clicking their phones shut in unison.

Sam immediately turned his laptop on, and ignoring the pain in his shoulder and arm, began searching for any information he could find on the deceased homeowner. At first, there wasn't much information that he could find on the Internet, other than the technical things. His age, work place, a few family relatives, etc. Nothing concrete. Sam then logged into the local library's historical records and began finding more info. Sam began to work through relatives when he came across Kirsten's name.

"Finally." Sam clicked on the link and took a mental note of her information. It hadn't been that long since he had last talked to Dean. Sam fished out his cell phone and dialed Dean's number. On the second ring, Dean picked up.

"Yeah? What do you have, Sam?"

"Hey. Yeah I got some info on our Mr. Kravesalt. His first name is Carter. He was born August 8th, 1940. He's one of the local barbers, who inherited a chunk of money when his parents died. Apparently, his family was one of the first families to settle here, after the mysterious disappearance of the Indian tribe 103 years prior to that. He had a son, Eric, but he was killed in a hit and run in 1967..." Dean took in the info Sam was handing to him.

"1967? Isn't that when the attacks started?"

"Yeah. They started in June,. His son died in February. Get this. One of the first victims, James Carsole, was later found to own the car that killed Carter's son, Eric." Dean felt the pieces coming together as Sam continued.

"The Indian tribe that had originally settled here had all been wiped out by a harsh winter and a virus that swept across the area in 1808. We only assumed that's when the Vyriayne started attacking. I missed something the first time. When the town was founded, there were a few strange deaths cause by 'an animal of unknown origin' back in 1911. All of the founding fathers were slain, except for Carter's grandfather."

"So you're thinking that Carter's grandfather was the one who originally summoned it, and what? Passed on control to his son and then onto Carter?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Well the forest was owned by his grandfather, who happened to stumble upon a gold mine in that area. The other founders wanted in on the gold, but I guess he wasn't willing to share."

"So he figured out how to summon these things, used it to get rid of those that threatened his gold mine, and keeps it around to protect any other intrusions?" Dean shook his head.

_It's about money. Why am I not surprised? _Dean mused.

"Yeah, I guess so. His son is killed. He uses the Vyriayne to kill the man who killed his son. Gets his revenge. Maybe there's another mine somewhere on the property? Maybe that's why he kept on sending the Vyriayne after people?" Sam suggested.

"Could be. What about a wife?" Dean hadn't seen any pictures of another woman during his quick search around the house.

"No. His wife died in child birth. Kirsten is his niece. She lives in the area, closer to town. I'm still not sure about the guy. Couldn't find any information on him. He looks so familiar, but I just can't remember where I've seen him before."

"Alright. Bobby and I are gonna clean the place up a bit then Bobby will call in the cops. We already have a cover story. Don't worry. We don't have much time before it gets dark, maybe another two hours or so. You got an address for this girl?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Bobby had stayed behind to talk with the cops, giving them some crap story about how the back door had been broken and they had found Mr. Kravesalt in the basement, torn to shreds. Bobby had discreetly destroyed the shrine before the police got there. No point in telling the cops that this man summoned a spirit to kill a bunch of people because there might be another gold mine hidden somewhere in the forest. They would have him locked up in a straight jacket in seconds. Better to lie to the cops and let them keep their sanity.

Dean had gotten into the Impala after a talk with the cops and headed towards Kirsten's house. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do. He could try talking to this girl, but what could he tell her that she would be willing to believe? He hoped that he would be able to talk to her before she found out that her uncle was dead. With that thought, Dean pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bedside table. He leaned his head back against the hard, hospital standard-issue pillow and closed his eyes. He had that uneasy feeling again. He knew his brother would protect that girl by any means necessary, and that's what scared him. Then, out of the blue, that all familiar pressure began to build behind Sam's eyes.

_Are you freakin' kidding me? _Sam thought as he hissed in pain asthe small throbbing ache within his skull accelerated into what Sam would describe as his head being about to explode. He used the palms of his hands to cover his eyes as images began flashing in front of his eyes.

"_Somebody! Anyone, please help me!" Kirsten was running straight forward through the dense woods that engulfed her from every side, her shoes coming down on the sticks and rocks that lay beneath her feet. _

"_Kirsten! Stay where you are! We're coming to get you!" Dean's voice echoed throughout the woods. Kirsten stopped running and stayed where she was. The wind had picked up again as she waited for Dean and Bobby to catch up to her in the clearing. The moon was high up in the sky, giving the forest an eerie glow. _

"_We have to get out of here. It's not safe with that... ah... thing out there. We need to leave now." Dean stated as he grabbed Kirsten by her right arm and began to gently pull her back the way they came. A noise came to the right of the small group. Dean's shotgun aimed at the area the noise had come from. The Vyriayne stepped out of the cover of the woods. _

"_What the HELL is that thing?" Kirsten squeaked out as she held onto Dean's arm like a life raft. _

"_Damn it." Dean cursed under his breath. Bobby shot at the Vyriayne, but missed as the creature hid once again in the lush forest of the night. They had just started to move again, when the creature reappeared, ramming into Bobby and sending him flying. The spirit looked towards Kirsten, hunger in its eyes. _

"_Hey! Come and get it you ugly bastard!" Dean shouted as the enraged spirit turned its head towards Dean. _

"_Kirsten, get moving! Bobby will help you get out of here. I'll distract it. No negotiation here, Bobby." Dean yelled as he turned his head quickly towards Bobby, who was getting into a standing position. Dean nodded his head and Bobby resigned from arguing at the look of determination on Dean's face. _

"_Alright, be careful!" Bobby yelled back. Not needing to be told twice, Kirsten took off towards Bobby and they headed towards the freedom that Dean had offered them. Dean shot at the animal spirit. He missed, and the creature once again hid from view. Dean had just re-loaded the shotgun when the Vyriayne struck him from behind. Dean picked himself off the rough ground quickly and turned around, but found himself at the receiving end of the spirit's deadly claws as they tore across his chest. Dean was sent flying, landing with bone-crushing force. Dean lay still, unmoving. Blood was oozing from three deep gashes running the length of his muscular chest. A pool of blood began to form from behind his head, where his head had hit a large rock. A small trickle of blood fell from Dean's lips, the blood making its way down the left side of his face. His face contorted with shock. Dean's breathing began to slow as the blood continued to leak from his broken body. A bloody animal carcass was laying just 12 feet from Dean's body. Its decaying body a testament to the spirit's deadly capabilities. The Vyriayne watched as his prey took its final breath. Then all was still in the clearing. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

**A/N: Uh oh. Looks like Dean's in trouble again!! Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens!**


	8. Time To Go

Chapter 8

**A/N: So sorry this took so long. It's been a very busy few weeks. A big thank you to my beta Dev for being so patient and putting aside time to help me with this.**

**Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own them. They belong to Eric Kripke.**

* * *

"DEAN!!" Sam yelled, in-between gasping for the air that his lungs desperately needed. The pain in Sam's head and his own injuries were nothing compared to the fear that was all consuming. He knew that he had to get to Dean. Sam grabbed his phone and dialed Dean's number, but Dean didn't pick up. Sam looked at the clock.

"6:08 P.M." Sam pulled out his IV, grabbing a tissue to stop the bleeding, and dragged himself out of bed and fumbled for his clothes. He knew Dean was going to be pissed that Sam had left the hospital, but he would rather deal with a very angry Dean than a dead Dean. Sam painfully slipped on his jeans, biting back the scream of pain that wanted to escape his lips. After struggling to get the hospital gown off and his clothes back on, Sam grabbed his laptop and shoved it into its carry bag. Now he had to figure out how to get past the hospital staff. Sam limped over to the doorway and leaned heavily against it. The pain in his head was making the room spin. He knew that he wasn't really in any condition to be mobile, but with Dean's death looming over him, Sam was going to do whatever it took to make sure Dean survived.

Sam stuck his head out of his doorway and looked up and down the corridor. Sam knew that the nurses would start serving the patients their 'dinner' at about 6:30 P.M. He had to move fast. With as much stealth and speed as he could muster, Sam carefully made his way down the hallway. Sam knew which way to go as he was on the first floor, and he could hear the hospital doors open and close at night. He was nearing the nurses' station, when a nurse came into view.

Not wishing to be seen, Sam almost threw himself into an empty patient's room. Waiting until the nurse disappeared around the corner, Sam continued to limp down the hallway. A nurse was making her rounds down the other hallway, and he could hear her approaching. Thankfully, Sam made it through the emergency doors before she turned the corner.

_Thank God that was easy. Now, let's see about getting a ride out of here. _Sam hated the thought of stealing someone's car, but he had to get to Dean and there was no way he was going to be walking all the way there. He made his way over to the far end of the parking lot, grunting the whole way. He came across a truck that he instantly recognized. Bobby's.

"Bobby must have left with Dean in the Impala. Well, at least I can bring him his truck without having to steal someone else's." With that, Sam opened Bobby's truck, and got in. Sam had to hot wire the truck to get it going, but after the second try, the truck fired up.

_Why is it that between Dean and myself, I seem to be the one always stealing a car... _Sam shrugged at the thought and pulled out of the hospital parking lot and took off in hopes of intercepting his brother before he arrived at the forest.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was dark by the time Dean pulled up to Kirsten's house, when he saw the girl running across the lawn and jumping into her car.

_Damn it. She probably just heard. _Dean hit the steering wheel in frustration. He had heard his cell phone go off a few times, but the phone had fallen down by the passenger side floorboards after he had tossed it onto Sam's seat. He figured he would call them back after he was able to speak with Kirsten. He followed behind her as she drove off in the direction of her uncle's house.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam was only 15 minutes away from Red River Forest and the little Cul-De-Sac that took up residence near its outer edge. The full moon was now visible through the dense clouds. A chill ran up and down Sam's spine. It was just after 7:00 P.M and Sam still hadn't gotten a hold of Dean on his cell. Sam tried another approach.

"Come on, Bobby pick up the phone!" Sam hoped that Bobby was with his brother and felt like an idiot not to have tried Bobby's cell earlier.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank God. Bobby, are you with my brother?"

"No. I had to stay here and talk with the cops while your brother took off to find that girl."

"Why?" Sam's heart rate sped up.

"Bobby, I have a feeling Dean's gonna be coming back to your area soon. He's not picking up his cell phone, the jerk." Bobby then clued into the background noise at Sam's end of the phone.

"Sam? Where are you? Are you driving?"

"Yeah Bobby, kinda had to borrow your truck. I'm heading out towards you now. I'll fill ya in when I get there. When Dean arrives, keep him there. Do NOT let him out of your sights and don't let him go into that forest!" Bobby was at a complete loss as to why Sam had left the hospital. The kid should be resting in bed, not driving down a highway in his condition. Bobby knew that Sam must have a pretty good reason to be driving out here, if the kid had disobeyed a promise he had made to his brother.

"Okay, but you know Dean's gonna be pissed when he sees you out here."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't have come out here if it wasn't important. Keep him there, and in sight and I'll explain when I get there. I should be there in about 10 minutes. I'll see ya then, Bobby."

"Bye Sam." Sam clicked his phone off. He knew the words that would be coming out of his brother's mouth, but he would deal with it later.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean followed Kirsten's car as she drove right up to the small community of houses that were situated just 1 mile from the forest, where Dean had been almost an hour and a half ago. The cops were leaving the area, having finished up with the crime scene. Bobby had called it in, saying they had fixed the gas leak, but had found Mr. Kravesalt, dead in the basement. Kirsten hastily parked her car and ran over to the two remaining officers, crying and asking how this had happened. Dean figured that this was the beginning of Sam's vision, and he had to make sure this girl lived through it. He saw Bobby and wandered off to go and talk with him.

"Hey Bobby. I'm not sure how we're gonna do this, but that girl has to..." Bobby cut Dean off.

"Dean, Sam's on his way over and should be here any moment. He sounded nervous." Dean's features changed from shock to fear then to anger.

"I'm so kicking his ass when he gets here. He promised me he would take it easy for the next few days! Doesn't he realize that he almost died in that damn forest!" Bobby let Dean vent without saying anything. Dean was very similar to John in that they both hid their true feelings of fear and anxiety when it involved their family through jokes and feigned anger. Bobby knew that Dean was worried about Sam. Hell he didn't blame Dean. Sam had been lucky to have survived his attack and being back here while that thing was out there with Sam still recovering was not the best laid out idea.

Sam pulled into the Cul-De-Sac minutes after Dean had. He saw the Impala before he saw his brother. He pulled up beside the sidewalk and parked the truck. He got out of the truck, trying not to irritate his ribs and shoulder and was greeted with a very pissed-off looking older brother, who was making his way over to him. Sam turned around and faced Dean, waiting for the explosion that was bubbling to the surface.

"What the HELL Sammy? Did you not PROMISE me that you would stay in the hospital and recuperate? You're in no condition to be out here! Bobby and I can handle this, alright? You're so lucky that I don't just kick your ass now!" Sam bit his lower lip. He figured Dean would be pissed and he was dead on with that assumption. The images of his brother lying sprawled on the forest floor, bleeding to death burned into Sam's conscious thoughts.

"Dean! You know that I wouldn't have broken a promise to you if I didn't think it was really important."

"I don't care what your reason is! Get your ass back to that hospital or I swear I'll..."

"Dean, if you go into that forest, you're gonna DIE!" Dean was a little taken-aback at the harshness of Sam's words.

"Come on Sammy, nothings going to happen to me..." Dean stopped talking when he saw the look on Sam's face. Sam locked his sad eyes with his brother's emerald green ones.

"I saw you die. And I refuse to see it again. You are staying out of that forest, Dean, even if I have to hog-tie you and throw in the back seat of the Impala, I will." Dean knew that Sam probably would keep to that little promise of his if he saw fit that Dean wouldn't heed his brother's words.

"Sam, why didn't you call my cell phone and tell me about this?" Dean almost smacked himself upside the head.

_Sam probably HAD tried to call me and I just ignored my phone. Great job there, Dean. _Dean's thoughts were then confirmed.

"Dean, I did try to call you. When you didn't answer, I left the hospital. Not that I was going to stay in the hospital knowing that you were going to die, even if I had gotten a hold of you." Dean was at a loss at what to do. His first priority above all else was to protect his brother at any cost, but he knew that Sam wasn't about to go back to the hospital either. Worry crept into the crevices of Dean's stomach, not for himself but for his recovering sibling.

"I'm sorry Sam. I should have picked up my phone. Now tell me, how am I exactly going to die?" Sam hung his head. He really didn't want to repeat how his brother was going to die. A few minutes later, Sam had finished filling Dean in on the details of his upcoming death.

"That sucks! The damn thing better pray I don't get my hands on it." Dean huffed out. Bobby had gone off to keep an eye on the girl before Sam had filled Dean in on how he was going to die. Sam's body was screaming at him to rest, hell to go to sleep for a month, but the imminent threat of his brother's life kept him standing. Dean could tell Sam was needing some rest, or at the very least a place to sit down. Sam was quite pale, dark circles laying underneath his hazel-green eyes while he leaned heavily on his left leg to keep himself upright.

"Come on, we'll..." Dean stopped talking when the street lights started to go out.

"Damn it!" Dean ran to the trunk of the Impala and grabbed two shotguns from its trunk. Sam made his way over to Dean as quickly has his worn body would allow. Dean had grabbed two shotguns from the trunk and closed the lid and tossed Sam one of the shotguns. A piercing scream erupted not 300 feet to the right of them.

"Kirsten." Sam and Dean said in unison. The sound of glass shattering and a gun going off caused them to move at a quick pace. Turning their flashlights on, Dean ran ahead to see where the Vyriayne had gotten to. Sam pushed through the haze of pain that was consuming his whole body and moved at a brisk jog over to his brother, on high alert.

The streets were clouded in complete darkness, except for the glow from the moon above.

"Dean! What's going on?" Sam yelled out to his brother, wanting to make sure Dean had found the police officers, Kirsten and Bobby as well.

"Over here, Sam." Sam made his way over to his brother, now limping badly because of the stress he had placed on his injured leg. Sam took in his darkened surroundings. Bobby and Kirsten were there, but the two police officers were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the other two?" Sam questioned.

"Vyriayne. Threw one of them into her car, and then dragged them both off into the woods before I could get a clean shot." Bobby answered tiredly. Kirsten was in full-blown panic mode, just trying to control her breathing after what she had witnessed. A strange creature had appeared before Kirsten and the two cops just as the lights in the whole neighborhood had gone out. The thing attacked the first cop, while the other one fired a shot into the thing. The spirit slashed at the shooting cop, and dragged both of them into the bush.

"Oh my God! It... It dragged them away... they weren't moving... oh my God..." Kirsten's voiced cracked as she tried not to cry. Before either Sam or Dean could answer her, a howling sound came out of the woods from behind them. Bobby, having run to his truck and grabbed his own shotgun, aimed his weapon in the direction of the howling as Sam and Dean also had their guns trained on that exact spot. Kirsten looked towards the opposite direction of the howling when she heard bushes moving behind them on the other side of the street. Standing there, with the moon shining down and casting a terrifying glow off of the figure, stood the Vyriyane.

"Hell no!"

Sam and Dean had turned around, only to find Kirsten running passed them, fear causing her not to think about where she was going, which was right into the forest. Sam saw Kirsten run towards the forest before they could stop her. The Vyriayne watching them intently. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Vyriayne vanished. Dean began taking off after Kirsten, knowing that she was in danger of being attacked or killed by this thing.

"Dean! Get back here! Don't go in there!" Sam knew that this was the beginning of his vision and if he didn't get Dean to stay out of the forest, Dean was going to die.

"Sorry Sam, can't let her get hurt." Dean gave an apologetic look from the glare of Sam's flashlight, and took off into the forest.

"Sam stay here. I'll go after him." Bobby took off after Dean before Sam could argue with him.

"Damn it!" Sam knew he didn't have much time. His body was screaming at him to sit down, or he would fall down. The pain medication had worn off and he could feel every synapse in his body firing the impulse of pain into his brain. His body was worn out and exhausted. Sam didn't care. His brother was going to die unless he did something about it.

"Dean, I'm going to kick your ass for being such an idiot!" Sam muttered to himself as he himself ventured into the forest.

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**A/N:** **Thanks again for reading guys. Reviews are appreciated.**


	9. Final Battle

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: Okay here's the next chapter. Thanks to all those who have reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: All the characters that are from 'Supernatural' are sadly not mine. Eric Kripke owns them.**

* * *

"Somebody! Anyone, please help me!" Kirsten was running through the dense woods that encompassed her from every angle. Her face was covered in tears. She had come across the mangled bodies of the two police officers, and kept on running. She was terrified that that creature would turn its attention on her. A strong voice called out to her. 

"Kirsten! Stay where you are! We're coming to get you!" Dean's voice echoed throughout the woods. Kirsten stopped running and came to a stop. She didn't know who these people were, but maybe sticking with them was a better idea than running around the woods alone. The wind had picked up again as she waited for Dean and Bobby to catch up to her in the clearing. The moon was high up in the sky, giving the forest an eerie glow.

"We have to get out of here, it's not safe with that... ah... thing out there. We need to leave, now." Dean stated as he grabbed Kirsten by her right arm and began to gently pull her back the way they came. A noise came to the right of the small group. Dean's shotgun aimed at the area the noise had come from. The Vyriayne stepped out of the cover of the woods.

"What the HELL is that thing?" Kirsten squeaked out as she held onto Dean's arm like a life raft.

"Damn it." Dean cursed under his breath. Bobby went to shoot the Vyriayne, but missed and the creature hid once again in the lush forest of the night. They had just started to move again, when the creature reappeared, ramming into Bobby and sending him flying. The Vyriayne looked towards Kirsten, hunger in its eyes.

"Hey! Come and get it you ugly bastard!" Dean shouted as the Vyriayne turned its head towards Dean.

"Kirsten, get moving! Bobby will help you get out of here. I'll distract it. No negotiation here Bobby." Dean yelled as he turned his head quickly towards Bobby, who was getting into a standing position.

"What about Sam?" Bobby yelled back. Dean prayed that Sam wasn't in the woods somewhere.

"If you run into Sam, drag his ass back with you. I mean it Bobby!" Bobby sighed. Sam was not going to like this.

"Alright, be careful, Dean." Not needing to be told twice, Kirsten took off towards Bobby and they headed towards the freedom that Dean had offered them. Dean shot at the animal spirit. He missed, and the creature once again hid from view. Dean had just re-loaded the shotgun when the Vyriayne struck him from behind...

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam was half sprinting, half limping through the forest, desperately trying to find his brother before it was too late. His feet were crunching the fallen leaves that littered the forest floor, while sweat poured from his forehead from the exertion of pushing his body. His heart was pounding fiercely, and Sam was surprised his heart hadn't popped right out of his chest. Sam heard a shot ring out, and knew that it had been Bobby's, if his vision had stayed true to its course. Sam took off in that direction, praying he would get there in time.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean picked himself off the rough ground quickly, and turned around. He heard the movement of the Vyriayne's claws making there way down towards him, when he felt his body being shoved sideways towards the ground. He hit the ground with a thud, and his shotgun left his hand.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam had gotten to the clearing, just as Dean had been hit from behind. Sam wasted no time running towards his brother as Dean picked himself off the ground. Dean turned towards the Vyriayne as its claws descended down, intent on ripping Dean apart. Sam tackled Dean, using his body weight to knock his brother down. The Vyriayne's claws caught the back of Sam's right shoulder, as Sam fell down on top of his brother. Sam bit back a yell from the pain in his newly injured shoulder as he moved off his brother and grabbed Dean's shotgun and shot the Vyriayne as it advanced towards them. With a howl, the creature disappeared.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean slowly opened his eyes. He wondered what the heck had happened. He thought he was done for, end of story, game over. That Vyriayne would have killed him. What made it stop? Then he remembered. The 20 seconds he was out-cold for kick-started his memory. Someone hit him from his right side, knocking him to the ground. The shotgun had fallen out of his hand.

Dean heard a small noise coming from his right side. Looking over, he noticed Sam clutching his right shoulder.

"Sam!" Dean quickly made his way over to Sam.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Dean knelt beside his brother, seeing his brother's face contort with pain.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sam managed to whisper out between the waves of pain that raced throughout his body.

"Sam, what the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Dean was angry that Sam had made his way out here and had gotten injured by the same Vyriayne that had almost killed him almost two days prior.

"Dean. The next time I tell you that I had a vision in which you die, don't go and place yourself in the situation in which I told you that you were gonna die. Besides, someone has to watch your back." Dean was again, humbled by his brother's words, and angry with himself that he had been the reason Sam was out here in the first place.

"Let me check your shoulder, Sam" Sam nodded his head and Dean took a look at it.

"Looks like a few more stitches Sammy." Dean surmised begrudgingly.

"We need to get out of here. Can you stand?" Sam managed to sit up, biting his lip trying to quell the pain his body was going through.

"Yeah, I think so." Dean helped Sam get to his feet and grabbed Sam's right arm and placed it around his neck and placed his left arm around Sam's waist to help him keep his balance.

Sam was relieved that he had gotten to his brother just in time before the spirit would have finished him off. The adrenaline that had propelled him thus far since the hospital was wearing off. His body was taxed and blissful unconsciousness was calling him. Sam knew he would have to pull on his dwindling strength if he was going to make it out of this forest with Dean.

"You alright, Sammy?" Dean didn't know how his brother was still standing, albeit Sam was leaning on him to remain upright.

"We get out of this forest, ask me again." Sam answered as they began maneuvering their way out of the forest. They passed a torn up animal as they made there way back.

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"When this is all over, I never want to go camping ever again." Sam glanced as Dean let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah. I hate camping too." Slowly they made their way out of the woods.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Dean! Sam! You guys alright?" Bobby asked as Sam and Dean came into view.

"We're just peachy, Bobby." Dean muttered just loud enough for Bobby to hear. A claw came out of nowhere and Sam saw it just in time to duck. It missed his head by mere inches. A loud bang erupted from Dean's shotgun as he hit his target right in the forehead.

"Sam move!" Dean pushed his brother ahead of him and they ran for the back door of Mr. Kravesalt's house. Dean reached the door and slammed it shut, just as the creature made its appearance outside the door.

"Damn that thing can move!" Dean said breathlessly. Looking around, Dean took in the familiar area. They were standing in the living room, which included a TV in the right corner, and a small couch on the right wall. The living room was stark white, giving it a creepy hospital look, while the carpet was a nice gray color with many stain patterns decorating its plain appearance. The living room was attached to the kitchen to Dean's left and the hallway straight in front of him was the one that lead to the basement where the late Mr. Kravesalt had his last run in with the Vyriayne. Hearing panting, Dean turned around to find his brother sitting against the wall, nearest the kitchen.

"Sam? You alright?" Dean knew his brother needed rest, but being in their predicament that would not be a wise decision.

"Ye-ah, I'll be fine. Just... give me a minute, okay?" Sam managed to mumble out as a flux of pain ran throughout his body.

Sam knew they were in deep crap. The spirit was getting more and more dangerous and unpredictable and he was in no shape to be any real help to his brother or Bobby. He had been pushing his body too far and had reached the end of his endurance. Black spots danced in front of his eyes so he squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately not to pass out from the pain. He could hear his brother moving over towards him and kneeling in front of him.

"Damn it Sam. You're bleeding again." Dean's concerned voice broke through the fog that had engulfed Sam's mind.

"It's just a scratch. Don't worry about it." His hoarse voice not giving the lie the strength that he needed it to have.

"Not your shoulder, Sam. I think you popped some of your stitches." Sam opened his eyes and peered up at Dean. He looked down and saw a small crimson spot slowly growing on his lower abdomen.

"Huh. That sucks. Look, Dean, I'll worry about it later, alright? We need to end this. Set everything up in here and lure the damn thing into it. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Sam locked eyes with Dean and Dean hesitantly nodded his head.

"As soon as we're done here, I'm taking your Sasquatch ass back to the hospital." Sam merely huffed.

"Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean flashed a small grin and gave Sam a shotgun so as to defend himself. Dean then stood up and grabbed a bag of salt that he had found in the kitchen and salted the windows and doors, which he would break later to let the creature come in. Dean went over to where Bobby and Kirsten were sitting at the kitchen table and tossed the near empty bag of salt onto the table. Kirsten hadn't said much to the hunters, still shocked as to what had happened before her very eyes.

"Bobby, I gotta run out to the car. Think you can cover me?"

"Yeah, no problem." Bobby knew Dean was only asking him to cover for him because Sam was in rough shape, and that Dean was worried about him and wanted this hunt to be over with. Bobby stood up, grabbed his shotgun filled with rock-salt, and made his way over to the front door. Dean was about to follow him, when a panicked hand grabbed his arm.

"Please! I'm scared. I don't want to be alone!" Kirsten pleaded desperately, tears coming down her reddened cheeks.

"Look, we won't be long. Go sit with Sam until we come back. He's an excellent shot, so he'll make sure that thing doesn't come near you, alright?" Dean waited until Kirsten nodded her head and made her way down into the living room and sat down beside Sam. Even as injured as he was, Sam could shoot the spirit and defend the girl if need be. Dean had no worries about his brother's capabilities. Sometimes, Dean wondered how Sam managed to do the things he did, when Sam was in such crappy predicaments. Sam impressed his older brother, though Dean didn't think he would ever admit that to Sam.

_He'd never let me live it down. I don't want his College head to swell too big. _Dean chuckled softly to himself as he set out to go and grab the gear he needed from the Impala.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Ten minutes later, Dean re-entered the house with Bobby covering his back. They locked the front door and made their way back to the living room.

"Okay Bobby, you get the incantation out and start spreading the cat's eye shells out. I'll get the rest of the stuff out and ready." Dean stole a glance to his brother's direction. Kirsten was snuggled in right beside him, holding onto his brother's left arm for dear life. Dean chuckled at the sight. Even sick and injured, his little brother seemed to swarm the attention from the girls, even when Sam had done nothing to provoke the attention in the first place.

"How ya holding up Sam?" Sam opened his eyes and replied hoarsely, "I've been better." Dean nodded his head in understanding.

"It'll be over soon. We'll trap this damn thing and send its ass packing!" Dean exclaimed while preparing the entrapment circle.

"You... you're not letting that thing in here are you? That thing killed those two cops! It'll kill us all!" Kirsten was panicking and Sam knew she could screw up everything unless they kept her calm. Sam turned his head in her direction and spoke calmly.

"Look. My brother knows what he's doing and so does Bobby. That thing is not going to attack us. It can't leave that circle once it steps in. Once the spirit is trapped, we'll destroy that thing for good. So just stay calm and everything will be fine." Kirsten stared at Sam, trying to determine if this injured guy was telling her the truth about everything being alright. She found his soulful hazel eyes and reassuring voice to be comforting. For some reason, she trusted this stranger.

She nodded her head and leaned her head against his shoulder and held onto his arm tightly. Sam grimaced slightly, being that she was unknowingly pulling on the stitches in his shoulder, but gave her a quick grin, then closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. Dean listened to Sam's speech while he finished up with the trap and was marveled at how his brother was able to calm people down so easily, considering Sam was worried about how this whole event was going to turn out.

The lights began to flicker as soon as Dean had picked up his shotgun and their Dad's journal.

"Everyone ready?" Dean asked quietly.

"Make it quick, Dean." Sam answered as he loaded his shotgun and held it at the ready. Dean nodded his head at Sam's request. He knew Sam was near the end of his endurance to hold on. Sam needed patching up and a place to rest, not tackling a vicious blood-thirsty spirit. The lights had gone out, and the only noise was the small sobs coming from Kirsten, who still had not released her death grip on Sam's arm. Dean broke the line of salt around the door and stepped back with his shotgun pointing at the door. A gust of wind broke open the door, and there stood the Vyriayne, poised to kill all the occupants inside the small living room. The wind continued, knocking items off the shelves and onto the floor, leaving shattered remains of personal items of the former homeowner scattered all over the carpet floor.

"Come and get it you ugly bastard!" Dean shouted over the roaring wind. The spirit took a step towards Dean, extending its arm and taking a swipe at Dean. Dean dodged the strike and quickly discharged his shotgun and hit the Vyriayne in the chest. It howled and recoiled from the hit. Dean stepped back into the circle and waited for the Vyriayne to step over the threshold. The spirit glared at Dean, its black eyes searching for an easy meal to quench its thirst for violence. Its black eyes turned towards the man and woman now standing near the far wall. The smell of blood was strong from the young man, and the spirit's hunger intensified. It recognized the smell of the blood as the man that had gotten away a few days prior. Dean tried to get the spirit's attention back on him, but its focus was solely on Sam. Dean shot at the Vyriayne again, but this time the Vyriayne disappeared before the shot could connect.

"Where is that ugly beast?" Dean heard two shots go off from behind him. The spirit had appeared before his brother, who promptly shot it twice before it again disappeared. The spirit then went after Bobby, who was standing just outside of the trap.

The malevolent spirit took a swipe at Bobby, who ducked in time for the spirit to take a chunk of the wall out instead of taking his head off. It disappeared once again, blending into the darkness.

Dean stood protectively in front of his brother, both waiting in anticipation for the next assault. They didn't have to wait long. The strike came out of nowhere, and Sam felt Dean pushing him and Kirsten down to the floor. A ripping sound could be heard as Sam hit the floor with a grunt.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean had seen the strike coming a few seconds before Sam had. The strike was aimed at Sam, and Dean didn't have the space nor the time to shoot the spirit so he shoved Sam and Kirsten down using his body weight, and felt the Vyriayne's claws dig into his right thigh. Dean landed next to Sam and shot the Vyriayne, knocking it backwards, into the trap. Bobby rushed over and picked up the journal and handed it to Dean.

"Now Dean!" Sam was painfully picking himself off the ground and sat beside Dean. Kirsten had placed herself behind Sam and Dean, far away from the giant spirit creature in front of her. Dean placed one hand on his bleeding thigh and began to read the incantation along with Bobby and Sam. The three of them continued their chant, the wind picking up, scattering papers and any other breakables all over the place. The screeching howl erupted from the trapped spirit as it began to dissipate. The wind died down as the spirit exploded into dark shards that rained over them.

"Well, that was a fun way to spend a Thursday night." Dean chuckled as he leaned against the living room wall.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: Well guys, we have one more chapter to go before we're all done. So review and hang on for the last chapter.**


	10. Epilogue

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Well here it is guys, the last chapter. Thank you to all those who have taken the time to review. A big thank you goes to my awesome beta, Dev, for being so supportive throughout this story and for all her help. I couldn't have done this without you Dev!!**

**Disclaimer: It still hasn't changed. I don't own the boys or any characters found on 'Supernatural'**

* * *

"Dean? You alright?" Sam inquired as he noticed his brother holding his hand to his thigh. 

"Yeah. Just a scratch. It's not that bad. I'll be fine. How about we get the hell out of this place?" All around there were nods of approval.

"Well at least there's no housekeeping here, or else they might be pissed about the mess that thing just made." Dean joked as they picked themselves off the floor. After cleaning up a bit, Bobby grabbed most of the gear as Dean helped Sam down the stairs and over to the car.

"Look. Umm... I just wanted to thank you. All of you for what you did. You saved my life. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Dean replied with a sharp grin.

"Look we'd stay if we could, but..." Kirsten held up her hand.

"Don't worry about the cops. I'll take care of them. I don't know exactly what I'm going to tell them, cause I can hardly believe what has happened myself, but just go. I'll take care of things here. Besides, your brother looks like he could use some rest, if not a hospital." Sam merely glanced down at the ground. He hated being used as an excuse to leave, but he did feel like he was going to crash any minute, so he'd suck it up if that meant that he could sleep sooner rather than later.

"Thanks. We appreciate it."

"Dean. I'm going to stay behind with her, just in case. I'll come up with a cover story."

"You sure Bobby?" Dean asked. Kirsten was already on her cell phone, talking to the police.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just go and take care of your brother, alright? You guys don't need anymore run-ins with the law as it is. Go." With that, Bobby turned around and went over to talk with Kirsten while they waited for the police to arrive.

Dean opened the passenger door so Sam could get in, slammed it shut and got into the driver's side. Dean started the Impala up, and took off down the highway.

"How ya holding up there, Sam?" Sam shifted in his seat, trying to alleviate the pain in his abdomen.

"I'll be fine, Dean. Let's just get the hell out of here and get a motel." Dean gazed at his brother, shook his head, and returned his visual attention back on the road.

"Motel? I was just going to take you back to the hospital, Sam. You need time to heal properly. Besides, some of your stitches need patching up and you need your shoulder stitched up after your little rendezvous in the woods." Sam scoffed and turned his head so he was looking at his brother.

"Dean, there's no way I'm going back to that hospital, not after everything that's gone on. Too many questions are going to be asked. Not to mention we need to keep a low profile. We don't need the FBI on our ass right now and you know I'm right. Besides, the food was terrible. You can fix up the stitches that I've ripped when we get to a motel." Even in the dark, Dean could see Sam's puppy dog eyes working overtime, begging him to let Sam get his way. Dean understood Sam's logic, but that still didn't mean he wanted to take a chance with his brother's health.

_Damn it Sam. I wish you wouldn't do that. It's not fair! Little brothers. They sure know how to get their way. _Dean stepped on the gas and the Impala surged forward at a quicker pace. Dean glanced over at Sam and he sighed in defeat.

"Fine. We can stop at a motel once we've cleared the town. I've just got to check out of the motel room and grab our things. I picked up your medication from the drugstore earlier today so we don't need to revisit the hospital. Then we'll leave this hill-billy town for good." Sam nodded his head in acknowledgment; a wide grin spread across his face at another victory over his brother and leaned his head against the passenger window. Not five minutes later, soft snores could be heard coming from Sam's direction. Dean glanced over at Sam and turned up the music a little bit. The music boomed out of the stereo as the Impala made its way back towards town.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Fifteen minutes after grabbing their gear and signing out, Dean and Sam were back on the road, heading out of town. No other cars were on the road, leaving it bare and giving the feeling of tranquility for Dean. Out of the blue, Sam suddenly spoke, which made Dean jump in his own seat.

"You know, I finally figured out what the connection was Dean." Dean raised his eyebrows.

"What connection?"

"I know why I was having visions. I figured out where I'd seen that guy before." Dean was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"So who is he then?"

"Remember when I took off to Lafayette, Indiana?" Dean nodded his head. He hadn't forgotten that event, nor would he ever. That whole terrible event started the night Dean had told Sam what their Dad had told Dean to do if he couldn't save Sam. To kill him. Dean would never be able to kill his brother, no matter what. Dean would save Sam. But Sam had wanted answers that Dean was unable to give and had waited till Dean had fallen asleep and then he had taken off and left Dean behind. How could Dean ever forget waking up and seeing that his brother had taking off sometime in the middle of the night without him? The utter panic at not being able to find his brother scared the crap out of Dean. If it hadn't been for Sam stopping at the Roadhouse and talking with Ellen and Ellen relaying the information about his whereabouts to Dean, Dean might not have found Sam at all.

"Well the reason I had gone down there was because there was another kid like me who had lost his mother in a fire when they were 6 months old. The only thing was that he was murdered a month before I got there. His name was Scott Carey. Ava had had a vision of him dying days before he died, before she warned me about her vision of me dying."

"Huh. So how did you figure it out?"

"Well I had only looked through Kirsten's family. There wasn't a match so I tried a search for any Scotts in the town. I got two hits. I went through that database and found a match. Then I brought up the folder and it told me the date of birth and gave me the death certificate. It gave me the Lafayette, Indiana location as 'place of death'. I just put two and two together."

"So all this time you were connecting to some psychic's family and friends?"

"Yeah I guess so. Scott used to live here, until they moved four years ago to Lafayette."

"Well, at least that's one mystery solved. Though, it sucks if you are going to have visions of other people that all the other psychic kids have come into contact with." Sam rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

About two hours later, they arrived at another small town and Dean pulled into the first motel that came into sight. Dean parked the Impala and went inside to book them a room. Ten minutes later, Dean had grabbed their stuff from the car and hauled it inside. Dean went to the bathroom to take a look at his wound on his thigh. Thankfully, it wasn't quite deep enough to require stitches . Dean was greatful.

"No new stitches for me!" Dean muttered to himself quietly. He quickly wrapped up the wound to stop it from bleeding and changed into some new clothes. He left the bathroom and put his old clothes into his duffel bag. Sam then got off his own bed and limped all the way to the bathroom. Dean put on his shoes and opened the front door and went to the Impala and grabbed the first aid kit. He closed the trunk and made his way back to the motel room and closed the door. He took off his shoes and tossed the first aid kit on to Sam's bed.

"You ready to get those wounds re-stitched?" Dean asked as Sam came out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, alright. Where's my medication Dean?" Dean rummaged through his coat pocket and produced the two bottles of pills that his brother was to take to reduce the chance of infection and tossed them over to Sam.

"Take one of each every 6 hours." Dean reminded Sam as he opened the bottle of pills. Sam nodded his head as Dean handed him a glass of water to take his pills with. Sam laid down on his bed and hissed in pain as he lifted up his shirt so Dean could stitch up the wounds that had opened up. With needle and thread in hand, Dean began to stitch his brother back up again.

Fifteen minutes and a dozen curse words later, the wounds were re-stitched and Sam got up and grabbed some clothes from his duffel bag. Dean was nearby in case his brother needed help getting to or from the bathroom. Sam merely shook his head and limped to the bathroom to change his clothes. Dean put away the first aid kit and laid down on his own bed. Dean laid there, starring at the ceiling, thinking about how close he had come to losing his brother. Dean didn't know what he would do if he lost Sam. Sam was the last member of his family, his best friend, and his little brother. Dean lived for his family. He would do anything to protect them. Now that Sam was the only family member left, Dean would be dammed if he lost Sam. Their Dad had sacrificed his own life for Dean's by making a deal with the same demon that had killed their mom.

The colt had also disappeared during Dean's 'miraculous' recovery and their Dad's sudden death. Dean had never felt such pain as when they lost their Dad. This pain was a mixture of fear, mourning, and anger. Slowly the pain lessened and talking with Sam about it had helped. Even though Sam had to almost beg to get Dean to open up and talk with him about their Dad's death, he was grateful for it. Dean decided right then and there in that small motel room in the middle of nowhere that no matter what comes their way, he and Sam were brothers, and that they would take down anything that got in their way. Whether it was ghosts, spirits, the demon or even psychic visions, they would take them all down, together...

"Hey. Dean, are you alright?" Sam was sitting on his bed, and had been calling Dean for the past minute, getting no response from his brother.

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine." Dean took his gaze off the ceiling and turned his attention to Sam.

"You should get some sleep Sam. We're gonna hit the road first thing in the morning. That is, if you're up to traveling." Sam shook his head as he climbed into bed.

"Don't worry about me Dean. I'll be fine. Course, cause I'm still recovering and all, you gotta grab the coffee in the morning." Sam replied, while trying to cover a yawn and stifle the grimace of pain as he laid down and got under the covers in his bed. Dean stopped staring at the ceiling and turned his head and scoffed as he faced his brother.

"What I'm I? Your personal slave? Bitch."

"Jerk." Sam smirked as he took off his watch and tossed it onto the bedside table.

"Night Dean."

"Night Sam." Dean flicked off the table lamp and laid on top of the covers on his bed.

Dean couldn't help the smile that plastered itself upon his face. Things were going to be alright. His brother was safe and sound, or rather, was on the mend and was safe for the moment. They had finished the hunt and had saved the life of a young woman and stopped another one of Sam's premonitions from running its course. Come hell or high water, the brother's would carry on and protect the helpless, while looking out for one an other and doing what the Winchester's do best.

As Dean once put it, "Saving people, hunting things. The family business."

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**A/N: Okay. Here is a little preview of my new story, "When I Go Down"**

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The brothers sat there in the motel room, watching some lame action movie and laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"You wanna go grab dinner, Sam?" Sam took a look at his watch. It was almost 8 o'clock. This was actually somewhat early for the brothers to be eating dinner, but since they were on a break, it didn't really matter what time they ate.

"Yeah sure. What do you want?"

"Uh get me a burger with extra onions and some fries."

"You know every time I get onions for you, I'm the one who ends up suffering the repercussions." Sam muttered as he put on his shoes and grabbed his jacket.

Dean just grinned at his brother before replying, "Make sure they put LOTS of onions on then. Thanks!" Just before the door slammed closed.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The air was cooling off as the sun dipped behind the mountains. Sam zipped up his jacket to try and block out the cool wind. It was the end of September, and summer had given way to the beginning of fall. The diner was only three blocks from the motel he and Dean were staying at, so Sam decided to walk to the diner instead of driving the Impala so he could stretch his legs. Few people were walking on the sidewalk on either side of the road. Most had gone home for the night to be with their family, Sam surmised.

Sam walked briskly towards the diner as it came into view. He opened the diner door and closed it, the bell ringing, signaling his presence. Sam made his order and sat in the nearest booth, waiting for his food to arrive. Twenty minutes later, the waitress handed the bag of food to Sam, who smiled at her and said a quick thank you before heading out the door.

Sam had not even walked a full block from the diner, when he heard a commotion coming from the small park to his right. Sam switched into hunter mode and moved to the side of the library building, just out of sight of the park. Sam made his way over to the corner of the building and peered over at the group of people standing around inside the park grounds. A woman's pleading voice reached Sam's ears.

"Please Matt. Just let me go." Her pleading blue eyes searching for understanding and compassion from the five men surrounding her. She knew only two of the men. She also knew that they were trouble and that they didn't like anyone crossing them. She hoped the other man she knew would try and reason with this group on her behalf.

"Joey? Please, make Matt understand..." Matt slapped the woman hard across the face, bringing tears to her eyes as she stumbled backwards. Joey didn't move to help her, but had a shocked look upon his face.

"Get up, bitch." Matt hissed through gritted teeth. Sam had heard and seen enough. He recognized two of the men from the fight he and Dean had gotten into last night. His blood was boiling at the atrocious behavior of these disgusting men. His father had raised both he and his brother properly, and no way was Sam going to stand by and let an innocent woman get attacked by anyone. Even though Sam disliked fighting, sometimes it was necessary and this situation called for it. Sam wished he would have been able to call Dean so he could back Sam up. Dean's phone had gotten wrecked during their last hunt, so Sam had lent him his phone, which Sam had forgotten to get back from him. Dean hadn't picked up another phone yet. That was on his 'to do list'. Sam placed the bag of food on the ground by the corner of the library, and walked quietly towards the small crowd.

"We already smashed your car. Why not just give us your purse and you can walk away from here, before..." Matt stopped as he saw a figure making its way towards their group.

"You won't lay another hand on her, you arrogant ass." Sam said through gritted teeth as he reached the rim of the circle and moved past the four other men in order to stand protectively in front of the clearly terrified woman. Matt's face swelled in anger.

"You again?" Sam edged his way towards the edge of the park, his back now towards the street, keeping the woman behind him.

"I want you to take off and get out of here, alright? I'll handle this." Sam said barely above a whisper.

"You both are not going anywhere. You got lucky last time you little punk, but your buddy isn't around to help you out this time." Matt and his friends moved towards Sam, beginning to enclose around him.

_This is not good. I wish Dean was here to back me up. I've got to get this woman out of here before things get ugly. _Sam thought as he moved himself and the woman back towards the park's front gates, his eyes never leaving the group of men in front of him.

Five against one were horrible odds, even if he was a Winchester.

"When I say go, run. Get as far away from here as you can." Sam spoke softly, but spoke with conviction. The woman merely squeezed his arm in response, too afraid to reply in words.

"Take him out Steve!" Matt yelled. Steve came at Sam fast, arms swinging.

Sam yelled, "Go!" and the woman ran off towards the street, not daring to look back at what would only be a violent blood bath to follow.

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**A/N: What do you think guys? Hope you have enjoyed the story and the little teaser. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.**


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